


World Academy W Occult Association

by FH14



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Gen, Minor Belarus (Hetalia)/Russia (Hetalia), Minor England (Hetalia)/Seychelles (Hetalia), Minor Finland (Hetalia)/Sweden (Hetalia), Minor France (Hetalia)/Seychelles (Hetalia)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-30
Updated: 2012-06-04
Packaged: 2017-11-06 08:56:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/417061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FH14/pseuds/FH14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Prestigious World Academy W in New York City becomes a hotbed of intrigue after the entrance is vandalized, informing the students of the existence of a Magic Club. What most don't know is that the club is in its infancy, and the members couldn't be any more at odds with one another. At the same time, mysterious incidents begin to occur and the magic club is blamed for it. The club members must band together to clear its name and find the real culprit - without exposing themselves as members.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Have you heard about the Magic Club?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. I got the idea about the codenames from Shelly-Sells-SheaShells' fic "Between Dreams". Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer.
> 
> I like to throw in a couple of jokes that may not be understood unless you know the history or cultural significance behind it (usually not anything particularly deep though). Therefore, at the end of every chapter I'll include a note explaining some of them just to cover all my bases, which is where I'll also indicate what I've named the characters that haven't been assigned human names by Himaruya. If you see an inaccuracy please call me out on it; I hate being ill-informed.
> 
> This fic has some misc. pairings. Mostly Het, but there will be hints of basically everything. (Romance isn't really the focus of the story though.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country. Norway is Lukas Bondevik, Hong Kong is Li Xiao Chun - but everyone just calls him Leon, Seychelles is Michelle St. Ange, Bulgaria is Nikolay Lechkov, and Belgium is Laura Janssen.

* * *

"…tamashii made mo yaki tsukuse!"

Arthur raised his arm, gaze fixed expectantly on the design drawn on the ground in front of him, and waited.

…and waited.

"Looks like your spell didn't work" the tall blond boy standing behind him snickered happily.

"Oh shut up Russia-chan," the small Asian boy now next to Arthur responded flatly, "You know that England's spells are-"

"My spells are what, Japan?" Arthur snapped, folding his arms and reading over the spell book he had propped up on the nearby desk.  _I think I pronounced it right. Maybe I did the arm motions incorrectly?_

So far their first "real" club meeting was turning out to be a bust. At least they were actually focusing on spells this time instead of arguing amongst themselves. Though the way things were currently going, it wouldn't be long before they were in a brawl again.

"Japanese spells are difficult to pronounce, even for me. Maybe you should try doing a Latin-based spell?" Japan suggested. The boy's real name was Honda Kiku… or Kiku Honda. Arthur knew that Kiku was his real first name, but thinking about how Kiku's name was constructed accomplished nothing but giving him a headache.

"Maybe," Arthur muttered, flipping through the book.

"Greek and Native American spells might not be too bad either," Russia pointed out, clearly trying to be helpful for once. Ivan Braginski was hardly Arthur's friend outside the club, and had chosen the nickname "Russia" after Arthur had chosen "England" and Kiku had chosen "Japan", so clearly the frosty feelings were mutual.

"Perhaps. Does anyone know any Greek or Native American spells?"

"I know a few Native American spells, but they're pretty much useless unless you're squaring off against Bigfoot." The pale boy in the corner wore an expression that was even more bored than Kiku's, but he had a bit of an edge to the way he spoke that the Japanese teen lacked.

"Just use it on Russia." Arthur deadpanned, glancing warily at Ivan. The other boy didn't seem to think much of the insult though and was more interested in flipping through his own spell book.

"Over your dead body, England."

Arthur immediately felt an involuntarily shiver travel throughout his body as he looked over at the final member of the club, who was giving him her infamous evil eye.

"Calm down Belarus. It would probably take more than that to take down Russia-chan."

"What's with the '–chan' thing Japan?" Belarus asked heatedly, shooting a concerned glance at Ivan, who did his best to pretend she wasn't there.

"It's a term that denotes someone of great inner strength" Kiku stated in a less-than-convincing tone of voice. Belarus seemed satisfied with his answer though, and turned back to the task at hand.

The pale blonde boy in the corner sighed. "Anyway, I think we can all agree that England's not going to figure out this spell in the next few minutes, so maybe we should move on to something else."

"I'll get it. I know I will." Arthur muttered to himself, before looking up at the other boy. "Well what about you Norway? You talk a pretty big game for not having done anything yet."

"The meeting just started you know," Norway pointed out, before taking out a small bag and clasping his hands around it.

Arthur waited for something to happen, but instead the group just stood in silence. As he was about to break and tell Norway to get a move on he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, and turned to see Kiku nod towards Norway. It was then Arthur noticed that the boy has been quietly chanting something. It was too low for him to hear, but his stance and general demeanor suggested that he was performing some kind of spell.

All of the sudden Arthur felt a huge gust of wind, and that's when he saw it.

"BLOODY HELL!" Arthur screeched as he felt himself fall backwards, "What  _is_  that thing?"

"It's called wind, Arthur. You don't have to act so scared," Kiku said with a confused expression.

Arthur gaped at him.  _Does he seriously not see it?_

"Looks like not all of you can see it." Arthur jumped as Norway began to speak. "I guess my theory that all who dabbled in magicks could see magical creatures was false then."

"Magical creatures?" Belarus asked in a hushed tone, looking around wildly. Clearly she couldn't see it either.

"Yes, I summoned a Troll just now. Well, most of him anyway." Norway looked up at the menacing creature hovering above him. "Right now he's somewhere in between a brick wall and smoke. He can do physical damage but he isn't in a concrete form like you or me, especially beyond his waist. I could have used more energy and summoned him in his entirety, but this form has its advantages and I'd rather not drain myself needlessly."

"It certainly looks formidable enough," Ivan remarked. He looked a bit alarmed as well, but had managed to compose himself. "But would you have to summon that long spell every time? Almost seems like more trouble than its worth."

"Only when bringing him to a new area," Norway expounded, sitting down in a nearby chair, and flipping through his own spell book. "I've never summoned anything at school before so it was necessary, but from now on if I want to summon him-" Norway nodded upward, "-all I'll have to do is utter a single phrase."

"And what is that?" Arthur asked. Now that the initial shock had worn off, he looked more excited by the possibility of summoning a magical creature.

"Not telling," Norway replied flatly. "Not only could you very well butcher the pronunciation and turn us all into lawn furniture, but you don't have enough control or confidence in your abilities to keep this guy from running amok."

"Let's move on," Kiku proclaimed, cutting off Ivan who looked like he was going to ask Norway to tell him how to summon trolls instead. "Belarus, you seem to have a lot of stuff with you today."

"Yes, they're my tools." Belarus replied, and pulled out a small cauldron from her bag. Soon, the entire tabletop was covered by a myriad of vials and containers, leaving Arthur to wonder how exactly she managed to fit all of that into such a small bag.

"Ah, I see your forte is potions," Arthur asked, curiously eying a container that he swore was eying him back.

Belarus nodded, "I know a couple of spells but I'm worse at them then even you are."

Arthur looked up at her and scowled. Behind him, Kiku and Ivan were trying not to laugh.

Norway seemed uninterested in the exchange and was looking at some of Belarus's other supplies. "Ah, I see you have ingredients here for an Amortentia spell."

Arthur saw Ivan turn even more pale than he already was as Belarus explained, "Yes, but I've never been able to produce it properly. I'm not quite advanced enough to accomplish it yet, but when I am…"

Arthur saw Belarus eye Ivan, who looked away with an unhappy expression on his face.  _Wait. Aren_ _'_ _t they brother and sister? Then why is..._ Arthur pondered this for a second before the unfortunate implication struck him, and he shot Ivan a sympathetic glance.

"Amortentia… was that one of the spells..?" Kiku interrupted.

"Yeah" Belarus answered, "Its one of the spells that traitor named in her book."

Arthur signed, "J. K. Rowling, what compelled you to spill so many of our secrets?"

"Some angst-ridden teenager with Armageddon complex apparently," Norway replied, "Luckily she didn't get it published until five years after the spell was cast on her so it had waned and she had put her own creative spin on things."

"Quidditch is quite a neat idea I'll admit," Arthur conceded, "but the idea that magic folk are actually organized enough to have schools and government? That there's just wishful thinking."

"Many of the spells and potions were spot-on though," Kiku pointed out, a grim look on his face. "A band of sorcerers had to cast a spell on someone to get her to write something that completely bastardized common mythology to counteract it."

"And sadly for us, she was having a ' _happy_ ' dream at the time," Belarus added sourly, "And now we're stuck with a bunch of books about a sparkly vampire who falls in love with a vapid and boring girl."

"Can we change the subject?" Ivan interjected, seeming to recover from his previous discomfort. "Kiku, do you have anything to show us?"

"I can, but I'll need an opponent," Kiku replied.

"An opponent?" Belarus asked as she cleaned up her supplies, clearly annoyed that she hadn't gotten any tips on how to perfect the Amortentia potion.

Kiku nodded, "My specialties are attack and defensive spells. In order to demonstrate properly I'll need a target."

Arthur had a very bad feeling about this.

* * *

"And Francis said that they meet after school in the basement, cursing students and teachers and worshiping at the altar of Satan." The bespectacled boy jabbered to his companions as they made their way down the hallway to the cafeteria.

"Alfred, you do know Francis is full of shit most of the time, right?" The darker-skinned girl next to him deadpanned, "He's good as a tutor for a Philosophy class, but not much else."

"Still upset that he said you guys went behind the bleachers after the football game, Michelle?" Alfred asked with a raised eyebrow.

Michelle shot him a glare and backtracked, "I do wonder if that club actually exists though. There definitely are kids here scary enough to summon monsters."

"Bet you all my baseball cards that Ivan is one of them."

"I don't want your baseball cards Alfred, but it wouldn't surprise me," Michelle sighed, and shot a glance at their other companion, Toris Lorinatis, a.k.a. Ivan's best friend-slash-lackey from Junior High.

"He's not  _that_  bad you know," Toris replied, swallowing the slight tremor in his voice. "And his sister Natalia is-"

"A psychopath." Alfred finished, entering the double doors and heading for the lunch line, "Dude, she tried to break your arm last year."

"Yeah well…" Toris mumbled, before feigning interest in some of the fruit lining the counters.

"Seriously though," Michelle added, patting him on the back, "It's a good thing you met Alfred on the first day of school. If Ivan tries anything, Alfred's in tiptop shape. Right Alfred?"

"Hm?" Alfred mumbled, a hamburger stuffed in his mouth with two more on his tray.

"Or he'll get really fat and we can use him as a shield." Michelle sighed as she took her fish taco up to the register.

After the cashier scolded Alfred for eating in line again, the trio headed straight to a table towards the center of the room, where a bored-looking Chinese boy sat unpacking his lunch.

"Leon, what's up?" Alfred said enthusiastically, "Is Arthur here yet?"

"You guys just missed him; he's getting on line right now." Leon replied with mock enthusiasm. Michelle turned and looked, and sure enough, those caterpillar eyebrows were navigating through the sea of students surrounding the deli-style counter.

"Leon, this is Toris. Toris, this is Leon." Alfred announced, introducing them with dramatic hand gestures. "As of today, Toris is now a member of our crew."

The two boys nodded at each other before staring at their lunches.

"Leon, do you know anything about this supposed 'Magic Club' on campus?" Michelle asked, realizing that Leon was one of the strangest people she knew whom she wasn't afraid to talk to.

Leon shrugged, "Everyone saw that notice painted on the school entryway. Beyond that I'm just as clueless as you guys."

"'All Worthy of Participating in magicks, use your skills to meet us at the last bell using the Path, if you so desire.'" Michelle quoted as Arthur sat down next to her, clearly exhausted from navigating through the lunch rush.

"Whoever did it is going to be in so much trouble." Alfred whistled before taking another bite of his second burger, "The principal was pissed. Though if they really are magical like they say they are he shouldn't go pissing them off. Me, on the other hand-"

"-would get turned into an alpaca." Leon finished.

"Has anyone figured out what path they were referring to?" Arthur asked calmly, though Michelle could swear she sensed a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"No clue," Leon responded, "We're in New York City. Everything is a sidewalk or a hallway. They could be referring to anything."

"It might be something to keep us mere Muggles from interfering," Michelle quipped.

"Yeah, Muggles…" Arthur mumbled, taking a bite of his mashed turnips.

"I'm not sure whose diet is more disgusting, the eighteen hamburgers or the mashed turnips with scones."

The group turned to see a tall blonde boy with wavy blond hair posing next to their table.

"I'm sure either one would suffice in blocking your wind pipe, assuming you haven't already begun storing hot air so you can float south for the winter." Michelle muttered, pretending to stab his crotch with her fork.

"Oi, Mademoiselle, feisty as ever I see." The boy said flirtatiously, striking another pose.

"Bite me Francis."

"Oh, and kinky too. Your fish taco does look-"

"Francis, just go away before she beats the crap out of you," Arthur interrupted, staring him down coolly. Francis shot him a glare before bowing to Michelle.

"Until next time my dear." Francis said with staged sadness, reaching for her hand.

"Touch me and I'll rip out your organs and feed them to birds."

Francis straightened himself up quickly and attempted (and failed admirably) to walk away seductively, "Until next time."

"He seemed very…forward." Toris said, clearly unsure what to make of what just happened.

"You were in rare form today Michelle," Alfred said, finishing up his final burger.

"I know, but I'm just so annoyed that he had to follow us to high school. His stupid friends _had_ to change their minds last-minute to go here."

"Maybe you can hire the Magic Club to turn him into a frog," Alfred said, standing up with his tray, "Be right back, I'm gonna go get seconds."

"I doubt they have a cure for diabetes though," Leon shouted after him as he rushed towards the line for burgers.

"He does work out a lot though."

The group turned in shock to see Alfred sitting at the opposite end of the table.

"What? How is-?" Toris asked frantically.

"Oh Matthew," Arthur signed in relief, "Sorry, we didn't notice you there." At this point he turned and looked at Toris. "I'm sorry I don't believe we've met."

"Oh sorry, I forgot to introduce you guys." Michelle said, wiping her hands. "Toris, this is Arthur Kirkland and Alfred's step-brother Matthew."

"Step brother?" Toris asked, staring at Matthew in amazement. Matthew didn't seem too fazed by it.

"Amazing isn't it?" Leon said, taking a sip of his iced tea, "They only share one parent but they could be twins."

"Except Matthew is not the ball of pure energy Alfred is," Michelle pointed out, finishing her taco, "Oh by the way Matthew, what do you think about this so-called 'Magic Club'?"

* * *

"Seems we've made quite a name for ourselves," Arthur said to Kiku, as they made their way down the deserted hallway later that afternoon, each carrying the bathroom passes from their respective classrooms.

"Anonymously anyway," Kiku replied, "I see you and Michelle are on speaking terms again."

"The fight wasn't that bad. And how did you hear about it anyway?"

"Francis told me. He was making the rounds at the cafeteria today."

"That stupid attention whore," Arthur muttered. "I suppose I have to thank him though. She got so mad at him that she completely forgot why she was mad at me."

"You said the cookies she made you for your birthday tasted like ashes," Kiku pointed out, "and that was coming from you - legendary for being able to eat just about anything."

"Well they did," Arthur said, hanging his head in shame, "I hadn't realized I said it out loud though."

"And in front of a bunch of girls she was trying to impress too,' Kiku smirked, "Francis said she chased you for blocks until she ran out of cookies to throw at you."

"At least I wasn't in danger of being neutered by her," Arthur said as they entered the bathroom, he looked around before adding, "You still in for the club this afternoon, you know, after last time?"

"Lukas will get over it," Kiku replied, wearing an expression that Arthur would almost consider boastful, "It takes a lot more than a troll to best me."

"Watch it, I think you're starting to get an ego."

"It's because you've been such a bad influence on me."

"Seriously though," Arthur said as they headed for the urinals, "Alfred poached one of Ivan's lackeys. Think you have enough juice if he decides to make a scene out of it?"

"If we're alone or in the clubroom, yes," Kiku said after a moment, "but if it were in a crowded room it wouldn't be a good idea to use my abilities. Though I doubt he would try anything in that setting. His sister on the other hand-"

"-is a bad Potion-maker. Unless she wants to start brewing in the middle of homeroom I think we're safe."

"I talked to Ivan after the meeting though," Kiku said, zipping his fly, "According to him, she's also a pretty powerful Illusionist."

Arthur groaned, "She wouldn't be able to physically hurt us, but she can scare the crap out of pretty much everyone."

"And her illusions can be pretty scary too," Kiku added, making Arthur snicker as he turned on the sink.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Alfred mouthed to Arthur as he sat down next to him.

"None of your bloody business," Arthur mouthed back, before turning his attention to the teacher.

"Oh now that Arthur's back from the restroom, I can read this announcement from the principal," The teacher said, breaking her own train of thought as she rummaged through her papers, "Hold on, I put it here somewhere…"

"You think it's about the entryway last week?" Alfred whispered.

"How should I know?" Arthur whispered back, his anxiety rising.

"'Students, we urge you to be on the lookout for anyone who may have committed acts of vandalism over this past week.'" The teacher read aloud, "'As you all know, last week the front entrance of the school was vandalized with graffiti, but this morning the custodian reported that the supply closet had been broken into yesterday approximately when school let out. While nothing was reported stolen, the administration will not tolerate this and urge any students with information to tell a member of the faculty immediately.'"

"Who would want to break into a supply closet and not steal anything?" Nikolay Lechkov asked out loud.

"Probably some horndog who really wanted to make out with some poor girl," Laura Janssen said.

Immediately the entire class, including the teacher, turned to look at Francis.

"It wasn't me! I swear!" Francis said dramatically throwing his hands up.

"He's right," Alfred said thoughtfully, "Francis is nowhere near strong enough to break a lock."

"I resent that remark," Francis bit back.

"Maybe he was with a really strong girl?" Eduard Von Bock wondered aloud.

"But who would willingly break into a supply closet to make out with Francis?" Laura pointed out. The entire class immediately turned to look at Michelle.

"You better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting," Michelle said under her breath, and Eduard and Laura immediately turned their heads away from her icy glare. The rest of the class began muttering amongst themselves about whom they thought the culprit was.

"Whoever it was is probably a member of that magic club," Alfred stated, "They did leave that message on the front of the school."

"Maybe they were trying to summon something," Michelle guessed.

It took all of Arthur's willpower not to sink down underneath his desk. He had no idea why someone would break into a supply closet, but everyone would assume that his secret club was behind it.  _And if they are_ , Arthur thought to himself,  _I_ _'_ _m going to make them battle Kiku without using their magic this afternoon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Japan, honorifics are used when addressing other people (I suppose it would be similar to using "Mrs." or "Miss." in the English-speaking world). The suffix "-chan" is actually used when addressing a young girl, so Kiku isn't exactly being very mature here.


	2. Secrets and Magicks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country. Norway is Lukas Bondevik, Seychelles is Michelle St. Ange, Iceland is Emil Bondevik, Denmark is Mikkel Densen, Cyprus is Frascuelo Spyrou, Uganda is Lutalo Patel, Taiwan is Wang Xiao Mei, Netherlands is Abel Janssen, and Cameroon is Roshaun Nkoma. And Denmark is lazy and Americanizes names and/or shortens them.

* * *

Lukas Bondevik didn't exactly hate people, but he found a great deal of them annoying and difficult to deal with. None were more difficult than his brother Emil.

Lukas loved his brother, but Emil was simply inept when it came to dealing with others. Lukas was no social butterfly, but unlike Emil he would have enjoyed having some friends growing up that weren't related to him by blood.

Well, he did have two friends growing up, but he hadn't seen them in-

"Lukas? Lukas Bondevik? Is that you?"

Shit.

Lukas recognized the cheerful blond boy immediately as he set his books down on the desk next to him. The last thing he wanted to get caught up in this loser's crap again.

The blonde boy leaned over with a somewhat hurt expression on his face, "Lukas, it's me! Mike! Don't ya remember me?"

Lukas reluctantly nodded, "Yeah. Mikkel Densen, correct?"

A huge grin spread across Mikkel's face. "I knew it! It's been ages! How are ya Luke? Is Milo here too?"

Lukas sighed, suppressing the urge to summon his troll and squash Mikkel like a fly, "You know that I don't like being called Luke. And I think Emil might hurt you if you call him 'Milo'."

"Emil and Lukas are such serious names though," Mikkel said, ignoring Lukas' annoyed expression, "Luke and Milo are so much more whimsical, ya know?"

 _Yeah, me and Emil are really fucking whimsical._ Lukas thought to himself, beginning to tune out Mikkel's jabbering. It was only a few more minutes until the teacher arrived and called the class to order, forcing Mikkel to stop talking and Lukas to silently rejoice.

Of course, as soon as the teacher had them told them to begin working in pairs, Mikkel practically tripped over his desk in his rush to get to Lukas, despite the fact they were sitting right next to each other, much to the amusement of the rest of the class.

"So what have ya been up to the past couple of years?" Mikkel said, clearly preparing to launch into a long tirade, "It was such a drag when you and Milo left. It was just me and Berwald, and we were at each other's throats for a while but now we're tight, amazing right?"

Lukas raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise, "Yeah, it kind of is…"

When they were younger, Mikkel was certainly as hyper as he was now, but Lukas found the boy sitting next to him a lot friendlier than the guy he remembered from years ago. The Mikkel he knew had been a major control freak, and had butted heads with the perpetually shy and intimidating Berwald more than he could remember. The fact that one hadn't killed the other after they left was an amazing achievement in and of itself.

Mikkel nodded enthusiastically and continued, pointing out all the girls in the class that he had professed his undying love to in junior high and had told him to get lost. Lukas found himself laughing along with Mikkel's strange stories, but out of sympathy for the unlucky in love, not because he was, you know, actually having fun.

Before they knew it the bell rang, and Lukas absent-mindedly handed in the assignment that he had done when Mikkel had randomly taken a 10 minute bathroom break. The two of them continued talking in the hallway (meaning that Mikkel talked and Lukas half-listened) and discovered that they shared the next class as well.

"Huh, what are the odds?" Lukas pointed out as he took his normal seat. Mikkel immediately sat down at the adjoining desk, annoying the girl who had been sitting there the past couple of weeks.

"Yeah, can you believe we have all the same classes? This'll be just like elementary school-"

"What?" Lukas interrupted, speaking a bit louder than he had intended, causing a few of the students that had arrived to cast him odd looks.

Mikkel nodded, unfazed. "Yeah, I had noticed you in class the first two weeks, but I wasn't sure if you were who I thought you were, and I was a bit shy to ask until this morning."

Again, Lukas stared at Mikkel in amazement.  _What the hell happened to the overconfident jerk I knew years ago?_

Over the next three classes, Lukas learned that Mikkel and Berwald had a few other friends during their time in junior high, but the rest had decided to attend another high school. Lukas was a bit surprised that Mike… er, Mikkel skipped over talking about them and instead launched into the first two weeks of high school.

"So yeah we're pretty friendly with this guy Tino who we didn't talk to much in junior high," Mikkel said in a hushed tone, casting a wary glance to the other side of the classroom. Lukas followed his gaze and noticed that he was staring at Ivan.

Mikkel turned back to Lukas, "Apparently, something big went down over the summer and Tino and another guy named Toris left Ivan Braginski's circle. I'm not sure if you remember, but no one ever leaves Ivan's circle."

Lukas once again failed to fight back his surprised expression. Sure, the Ivan he remembered from Elementary school had been tough, but he didn't remember him being so intimidating to the other students.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I think Berwald has a crush on someone." Mikkel injected in his normal hyper voice.

Lukas suppressed the urge to faint from this onslaught of surprises. Luckily for him, the teacher began her lecture, and he was left silently absorbing everything that he'd learned over the past couple of hours.

* * *

By the time they made it to the cafeteria, Lukas was basically all caught up with every single event that's transpired in Mikkel's life between the end of Elementary school and now. Though Mikkel barely talked about his other friends in middle school, and didn't elaborate any more on Berwald's love life, which was perfectly fine with him.

Lukas eyed the lunch line and saw Arthur nearly get trampled by the other students, and was once again thankful that he made a habit of packing his own lunch.

Mikkel, however, hadn't, and pointed to a table where he recognized a boy who must be Berwald signal him over with a single wave. A smaller boy sat next to him, and waved him over a bit more anxiously. As he got closer, he realized that the boy, who must be Tino - as he matched Mikkel's description - looked a bit frightened sitting next to Berwald all by himself.

Lukas couldn't exactly blame him. Berwald had been tall in Elementary school, but now he practically towered over all the other students. He bore an intimidating expression that Lukas learned long ago was rarely a true indication of his actual mood. He empathized, as his face wasn't particularly expressive either, but he came across more bored than angry.

"Hey, so I gu's ya were Lukas af'er al'. Good ta see you ag'in," Berwald mumbled, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah, hello," Tino smiled, clearly more comfortable, "My name is Tino, I'm told you went to Elementary school with us, so I guess it's good to see you again."

Lukas nodded not sure how to respond. It was then that he noticed Emil carrying his lunch tray out of the line, and Lukas waved his brother over. Emil stared in surprise before he seemed to recognize Berwald, and appeared to hesitate before walking over to the trio.

"Hey Berwald, haven't seen you in ages," Emil said shyly as he sat down, avoiding eye contact. Lukas flashed Berwald an apologetic look, but the other boy either didn't acknowledge Emil's discomfort or didn't notice.

After introductions were made, the next few minutes were spent comparing classes, before they were interrupted by a commotion a few tables away.

Lukas immediately recognized who was at the center of the commotion.

"Francis never gives up does he?" Emil deadpanned, taking a bite of his fish taco.

"What's his deal anyway?" Tino asked, eying him as he headed over to another table, "He keeps making poses and hitting on all the girls."

"Well, anything with a pulse actually," Lukas explained, munching on the sandwich he brought from home. "The first week of school, Francis said he and Michelle St. Ange got to second base underneath the bleachers after the football team's first practice game."

"Damn," Tino remarked, "Is there any truth to it?"

"I doubt it," Emil responded, making eye contact for the first time, "From what I understand, he made a similar claim last year too. He and his friends are full of hot air, and most of their stories are blatant exaggeration or fabrication."

"I can attest any stories relating to his cooking are true though. His palette is absolutely fantastic."

Lukas looked up to see a boy who looked a year older than himself standing near the table. He was among the tanner students, but compared to Lukas's fair skin he looked even darker.

"Hey Pops," Emil threw up his hand in greeting as he finished his taco in one gulp, then motioned towards the others, "This is my brother Lukas, and the odd couple over there is Berwald and Tino."

"Nice to meet you," the boy said, flashing a smile that made a group of girls at a nearby table swoon, "My name's Sadiq. Emil, Heracles said that his mom needs help stocking supplies in her weird shop, and he's dragged me and the other guys into helping him."

"I'll help too I guess, I have nothing better to do." Emil replied, wiping his face, "We can always go to that market tomorrow."

"Okay cool. And join us for lunch one of these days okay? I don't think that Francis guy will be bothering us again if I know Frascuelo." Sadiq waved as he headed over to a group of other attractive boys with Mediterranean complexions. Sure enough, Francis was over there making a spectacle of himself. Most of them looked bored, but one boy with a strange haircut looked mildly annoyed at not being able to eat his lunch in peace.

"Don't tell me you actually made friends?" Lukas said, not sure if he could take any more shocks in one day.

Emil gave him an annoyed look, "Look, I took what you said about not being such a damn priss and was mister social the past two weeks. I never told you because-  _Damn it Lukas stop making that face you are not going to faint in the middle of the Cafeteria and make a spectacle of us_."

* * *

If he hadn't been carrying a tray, Mike would have pumped his fists in victory after escaping the pit of death that was the lunch line.  _Would it really kill them to make more room?_

He flashed a smile at a pretty girl who he thought was waving at him before he realized that she was actually looking at the Hispanic boy standing behind him. Luckily, neither of them seemed to notice, and Mike composed himself before looking for the table he had seen Luke head towards when they first walked in. He felt his shoulders relax when he saw Milo and Tino engaged in an animated conversation while Luke and Berwald talked more in a more reserved fashion. He was worried that something may have happened, and he didn't want to go through that crap from junior high again.

When Luke had told him that he and Milo were going to a different middle school, he dreaded the idea of heading into a new school year with Berwald as his only, using the term loosely, friend. He didn't have much to worry about though. As soon as he joined the soccer team, he found himself with a bunch of new friends who shared many of the same interests as he did.

Still, even though they weren't particularly close at this point, Mike found himself inviting Berwald along to hang out mostly out of habit. They had fallen out of touch with Luke and Milo after the brothers transferred, and Berwald had a much more difficult time making friends than Mike did.

His new friends weren't exactly thrilled with having Berwald around, but they warmed up to him when they realized he made them look even tougher than they already did as popular athletes. And Berwald's height and general demeanor made it so he didn't get many looks if he were to carry alcohol on the subway on the rare occasions when they would risk meeting up to party and get drunk.

Oddly enough, Mike found himself actually growing to like the guy, who he found a huge stick in the mud during elementary school. Before he knew it, they would sometimes even hang out by themselves – at each other's apartments or downtown where Berwald would watch Mike fail to get girls to go out with him. Mike figured at the time that Berwald was too shy to give it a go himself, or was afraid of scaring one of the more timid girls with his intimidating facial expressions.

Towards the end of eighth grade, though, this perfect arrangement of sorts was turned on its head.

For once, it was Mike dragging an inebriated Berwald home after a night of drinking with the guys. His parents knew that Berwald was responsible and kept up his grades, so they would turn a blind eye in the rare instance he would push the boundaries, so to speak, and have some fun. (Even though they were only thirteen. Go figure.) That particular night they were out to dinner though, so Mike didn't have to come up with any explanations when he helped Berwald to his room.

"Man, I've never seen you drink like that!" Mike exclaimed, as Berwald steadied himself on his bed. "What got into you tonight?"

"Lute talkin' 'bout 'dat girl." Berwald muttered. Or slurred, Mike couldn't really tell. For someone so drunk, Berwald was pretty composed and mentally sound, despite his unsteady feet.

"I don't blame ya," Mike snickered, "He did go on a bit much about that right. I swear, its not like she was the first girl to ever dump his ass."

"Yeah," Berwald said uncomfortably, casting his eyes downward.

Mike grinned and patted Berwald on the shoulder, "Lighten up. At least it wasn't one of my rejection stories. Well, more like several, since they're all so short."

Berwald cracked a bit of a smile at that before falling back on the bed. Mike laughed, "See, told ya it could've been worse. Though from how picky you are in the romance department, I'd bet if you went on a tangent like that, it would put the rest of ours to shame."

Berwald mumbled something illegible in response, and Mike raised his hand and waved, "Okay, goodnight you big lummox. I'm heading out."

Mike was turning the doorknob when he heard Berwald say, "Hey 'ike?"

"Yeah?"

There was a pause, and Mike turned around to see Berwald sitting up with a somewhat distressed look on Berwald's face. "Um, ne'ermind" Berwald finished, before flopping down on the bed again.

"Oh come on, what is it?" Mike sighed, before something clicked in his mind, "Oh man, there isn't a girl you like is there? What happened? Did she dump ya?"

"No," Berwald said in a muffled voice, face in the sheets, which Mike attributed to the alcohol, "not 'hat. 'ust 'orget it 'kay? It 'as s'upid"

"Stupid? Knowing you, I doubt it," Mike frowned, thinking, "Okay, I'm fresh out of ideas. What's on your mind?"

"'s nothin' okay," Berwald mumbled, "'night."

Mike felt himself get a bit annoyed, "Oh please, I've known you for years. I'm calling bullshit. What's up with you? You're acting weird."

He heard Berwald sigh, and he rolled over and stared at the wall, avoiding eye contact with Mike. "'ur not gon' let me get 'ny sleep un'il I 'ell ya right?"

"Yup," Mike replied cheerfully, leaning against the door.

Berwald mumbled something, and Mike leaned forward. "What? Couldn't hear ya?"

"I'm.. g…" Berwald mumbled again.

"I can't hear you?" Mike shouted enthusiastically.

"I'm Gay."

"See," Mike grinned, "That wasn't so…what?"

Mike felt his brain tune into one of those channels that was all static.  _Berwald is_ _ **Gay**_ _?_ Mike just stared at his friend dumbfounded until he heard loud snoring.

 _Of course he would fall asleep now,_ Mike thought to himself. Still stunned, he threw a nearby blanket over his friend before quietly leaving the apartment.

The next day, it didn't seem like anything had changed. The rest of the guys had gotten tired of Lute's bitching and told him to stop whining and find someone hotter. Berwald was quiet and composed as usual, and life continued as it always had. Except now, Berwald seemed to be avoiding being alone with him at every turn. Mike desperately wanted to address the elephant in the room, but clearly Berwald didn't agree.

A few weeks later, Mike walked into class and saw the guys, sans Berwald, hanging out in the usual corner. It took Mike a second to notice Berwald sitting on the opposite side of the room, a dejected look on his face. A girl whom Mike recognized as May was talking to Berwald and rubbing his shoulder, a concerned look on her face.

"Hey Berwald, May, what's going on?" Mike asked, feeling a bit nervous.

Berwald mumbled something and continued to look down at his desk. May looked up and gave Mike a look so angry that he almost fell over from the force of it, "Your stupid friends are jerks you know that?"

"What?" Mike replied, still reeling.

May nodded to the opposite end of the room, "Lutalo called Berwald a fag and punched him in the face."

" _What?_ " Mike said, and felt himself grip the desk when he noticed the welt forming around Berwald's left eye.

May shouted something else, but Mike was too angry to listen, before he knew it, he had stomped over to the group and punched Lute in the jaw.

* * *

May was currently in the office testifying as to what had happened. Mike and Berwald sat on one side of the waiting room with Lute on the other, each nursing bruises. Lute was pointedly looking away from them, which was perfectly fine with Mike.

"I want to know something," Mike broke the silence, though Lute was too far away to hear, as it was a fairly large room, with a slew of empty faculty desks in the middle.

"Wha?" Berwald asked, his good eye downcast as his over was covered with an ice pace from the nurse.

"Why didn't you punch him yourself? You're capable enough. It's called standing up for yourself."

Berwald looked up, surprised, before mumbling "I 'an'ed to st'y neu'ral for once."

Mike stared, before bursting out laughing, "Neutral? Seriously? You used to kick my ass in elementary school, and now you want to stay  _neutral_?"

Berwald nodded, a bit of a smile forming before dropping again, "I wan'ed to as'… Why'd ya do it?"

"Because no one messes with my friends, especially my best friend," Mike said, attempting to strike a pose but ended up aggravating his injured shoulder instead.

Berwald stared, stunned, "Bes' frien'?"

Mike nodded, moving his shoulder in a futile attempt to calm the pain, "Yup. Why do you look so surprised? I couldn't care less if you're gay. All this means is that I'll have less competition in wooing the ladies. That reminds me, do you think that May girl is single?"

As Mike turned to face Berwald, he unexpectedly found himself embraced by his friend.

"Mike… ther's som'thin' els' ya shou'd know."

"You're not in love with me are you?"

Berwald snorted, "God no. Mei's datin' som'body."

Mike groaned, "Damn it! I'm gonna be single forever."

* * *

After Lukas stopped stressing out over all the, to put in mildly, insane developments of the day, he was able to sit and have a rational conversation with Berwald and catch up on old times. It took Lukas all of 30 seconds to realize that his hunch back when he was eight was correct; Berwald was obviously gay – at least, it was obvious to him - which probably explained Mikkel's reluctance to talk about their junior high school days.

Lukas was more wrapped up with the fact that Emil had gotten actual friends. It was something he never imagined happening after they separated from Mikkel and Berwald when they headed off to junior high.

Both brothers were introverted, and didn't particularly like stepping outside of their comfort zone and taking the chance to possibly make a new friend, nor were they particularly skilled at doing so.

The difference was, Emil was perfectly content being off by himself. As much as Lukas hated to admit it, he liked having friends. Unfortunately, no one came barreling into his life like Mikkel had on the first day of kindergarten. Here, everyone's circle of friends was complete – copied and pasted over from the elementary school they had all attended – each person perfectly happy with what they had.

It was three months after they entered junior high that their grandmother died.

Her husband had died several years earlier, and she had been living with her daughter and her family ever since. Lukas was the most upset, as he had spent a great deal of time with her growing up, listening to her stories – most of them fantastical tales of her childhood back in Norway. Fantastical in that they involved magic, and magical creatures. And everyone knew that kind of stuff didn't exist.

It was when they were cleaning out her room that Lukas had found the book. In many of her stories, His grandmother had often mentioned a worn, leather-bound spell-book that had been given to her by her father on her twelfth birthday, and was the starting point of all her adventures. Lukas hardly believed that it held any magic, but refused to get rid of it when his mother told him to put it in the discard pile.

That night, Lukas lay in bed reading through the spells. Some of them were chants, many in Norwegian, but there were also others in a variety of languages. After a few hours of studying each one, wide-eyed at the amount of detail devoted in crafting each page, he found the one he had been looking for.

In his favorite story his grandmother told, she had gone out to the fields and summoned a pixie. The creature had been annoyed at first, but quickly became excited when it realized it had entered the human realm. For the next few years, whenever she had felt sad or lonely, she summoned it with a spell much less complicated than the first time. The pixie would do everything in its power to cheer her up, and she would thank it by providing it with supplies largely scarce in the world from whilst it came.

When she turned seventeen, she got into a fight with her mother, and she tried to summon the pixie to give her comfort. However, instead, a small green mist briefly appeared, and then vanished. Puzzled, she tried again and again, but each subsequent time nothing happened. Her father later told her that her pixie friend had likely passed away, and the green mist was a signal letting her know that the contract she had made with it had been broken.

While she had been tempted to summon another pixie with the original spell, the idea of replacing her friend had been too painful. On that day she vowed that she would take strength from the comfort the pixie had given her in the past, and readily made amends with her mother. She carried the creature's kindness around with her for the rest of her life.

Lukas stared at the spell, which was in Norwegian but seemed simple enough to pronounce. Quietly, as not to wake anyone else in the apartment, he began the chant as directed, clamping the crystal cross his grandmother had given him years before on his ninth birthday.

He heard a snap, and was about to open his eyes when he felt his legs give out from under him,  _Well that can_ _'_ _t be good._ He opened his eyes. It wasn't good. At all.

Before him stood a troll. A small troll, but a troll nonetheless. His urge to scream was suppressed by the shock to his system and how drained he felt after completing the chant.

He was about to speak a greeting, when the troll made a huge grin, let out a howl, and began tearing up his room.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Lukas turned to see Emil standing at the door, his annoyed expression turned into shock when he saw the creature currently running amok on his brother's desk.

"Wha- What the hell is that thing?"

"Shut up!" Lukas hissed, desperately trying to figure something out. In his grandmother's story, the pixie she summoned had been friendly, but at first it had been hostile and tried to attack her. She quelled it by using her will and after calming it down, never had to invoke that part of the contract ever again.

 _Stop, Come on, I command you to stop!_  Lukas thought to himself, eyes trained fiercely on the troll. It paid him no mind however, and decided that Emil's head looked like a comfy chair.

"Lukas, Get this thing off of me!" Emil yelled.

"I'm trying!" Lukas shouted, and immediately covered his mouth. Emil was one thing, but if their parents saw the troll that would be very bad. Very bad indeed.

It was at this point that the troll jumped on his bed and began tearing up his sheets.

"I command you to stop!" Lukas said in a stern voice, standing up and pointing his finger dramatically at the troll. Once again it ignored him.  _Damn it_. Lukas frantically tried to think of something else to do, when the troll spotted his grandmother's spellbook and made its way to it.

"No! I told you to stop!" Lukas said, lunging for the book, anger coursing through his veins. He'd be damned if he let something that was so important to his grandmother and himself get destroyed by a fucking troll.

As if sensing the power behind his words, the troll stopped, and began glancing around the room, glaring at Lukas and Emil.

"What the hell happened here?"

Lukas turned to see his mother standing behind a disoriented Emil in the doorway.  _Crap,_  Lukas thought,  _the troll_.

"Well, you see-" Lukas began.

"You two were fighting again weren't you? Damn it, look how much damage you've caused. Your father's going to throw a fit when he finds out how much it'll cost me to replace all of this!"

Lukas stared blankly at the furious woman standing before him.  _She_ _'_ _s looking right at me, how the hell does she not see this troll?_

Emil seemed to be in the same mindset, and opened his mouth to speak, "Well, actually-"

"-I started it," Lukas finished, giving his brother a hard stare, "Don't punish him, I caused most of the damage. I'm sorry."

Their mother sighed, "Okay then, Emil go back to bed. Lukas, you can go sleep on the couch in the living room. In the morning you're cleaning this all up, and you can forget hanging out with your friends and getting an allowance for the next year."

Lukas winced at that statement for more than one reason.

* * *

Emil was surprisingly good at keeping his mouth shut. Though as he put it,  _No one would believe me, and if I insisted they_ _'_ _d just send me to the nuthouse._

Lukas sent the troll away, and made sure to read through the entire spell-book with a fine-toothed comb. It was another four months before he tried summoning anything again.

 _Lucky Me,_ Lukas thought, as the same troll, albeit a bit larger, appeared again in his bedroom. Unlike the first time, he only summoned it partially, and it appeared a bit annoyed when it was unable to smash Lukas's desk.

"Sorry," Lukas grinned, "You can't make contact with anything unless I say you can."

The troll made an annoyed grunt before it floated to the ground and eyed Lukas warily.

"Do you like ice cream?" Lukas asked, tossing him a Klondike bar. The troll easily caught it, staring at him dumbfounded, before greedily scarfing it down.

Lukas smirked,  _This should be interesting_.

Over the next two years, the two became more adept to each other, and soon Lukas didn't have to exert so much of his will over the creature. Oddly enough, Lukas found himself happy that he at least found a friend, and he wasn't spending his afternoons alone anymore.

Emil wasn't exactly happy with the arrangement though. Both Lukas and the troll derived great pleasure from scaring the crap out of him every chance they got. This mostly involved sending the troll alone into a room with Emil and his parents, causing the boy to yell when the creature jumped on his head and his parents to stare at their son as he ran around the room, groping his head for no apparent reason. Though after a few months Emil grew used to this behavior and didn't react whenever the troll tried to nest in his hair.

When the brothers started high school, Lukas arrived to discover that message scrawled on the front entrance. "'All Worthy of Participating in Magicks, use your skills to meet us at the last bell using the Path, if you so desire'" Lukas read aloud as the students talked to each other in their little groups inside their little comfort zone.  _Sounds like fun_.

* * *

Lukas's thoughts broke as he heard the sound of a tray hit the table and Mikkel's grin entered his field of vision.

"Everyone having fun?" he laughed, as he squeezed in between Lukas and Emil and through his arms around their shoulders, "Damn it's great to see you guys again!"

"Get off," Lukas and Emil replied in unison, causing Mikkel to pout and Berwald to snicker.

"Anyway," Mikkel said, keeping his arms to himself now, "Did anyone else try out for the soccer team? I hear that there's this one kid that went to your school who is supposed to be amazing."

"There's a couple actually," Emil said thoughtfully, "Antonio Carriedo and Abel Janssen… oh and Shaun Nkoma is really good too."

"'r socc'r team s'ked," Berwald said flatly.

Emil snickered, but Lukas saw Mikkel give Berwald a look before countering, "Well yeah, but I more than made up for it with my amazing skills!"

"You hav' 'mazin' s'lls? You s'ould've 'ocused on th'm 'nst'd of pla'in' socc'r." Berwald smirked folding his arms.

"I could still beat your sorry ass at it any day."

"Dou' it."

"Oh yeah," Mikkel proclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table, a wild grin on his face. "You and me. Soccer Field. Right now. We'll see whose owning who."

Berwald stood up and the two immediately made a dash for the door, nearly knocking over Michelle as she went to throw out her garbage. Emil rolled his eyes and Tino looked both relieved and amused.

"I guess some things never change." Lukas sighed, suppressing an amused look himself.

Mikkel arrived at their next class covered in dirt, with a huge grin that indicated that he had beaten Berwald, though he looked a bit more timid when the teacher yelled at him for being late and filthy. The last two classes flew by, and before Lukas knew it he was watching Mikkel wave as he ran to go check the bulletin board to see if he made the soccer team.

Lukas whipped out his phone and saw that he had recieved text from Arthur hours before about the storage closet incident. He was only half-listening when the teacher addressed the class, as he was too amused watching Mikkel trying to maneuver himself so he didn't get his homework covered in dirt before he handed it in, so he hadn't paid much attention when it began buzzing.

 _No idea what_ _'_ _s going on._  He texted rapidly,  _Gonna miss club today. Exhausted._

He put his phone, and sighed. It had been a long day, and he was looking forward to going home, sleeping, getting woken up by Emil getting attacked by the troll, eating dinner, and then going back to sleep after reading through his spell-book yet another time.

As for Mikkel, Berwald, and Emil? Well, he'd just let his subconscious deal with that battle tonight in his sleep. His conscious mind was way too burnt out deciphering them. Spells and trolls were so much easier, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation Time. Originally, the role played by Uganda was done by a Gary Stu named Jeremy. Then I realized how much I hated Gary Stus and pointless OCs, and when I thought of homophobia I could use I immediately thought of the current struggle in Uganda. In case you haven't heard, homosexuality is criminalized in Uganda, and in 2009 a bill was proposed that would make it so people could potentially get the death penalty simply for being gay. It also proposes that citizens who engage in same-sex activity outside the country be extradited for punishment back in Uganda. However, this gross violation of human rights has been opposed by basically every other country in the world, and its been in a sort of limbo ever since, despite strong support within the government.


	3. In Plain Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Norway is Lukas Bondevik, Hong Kong is Li Xiao Chun - but everyone just calls him Leon, Seychelles is Michelle St. Ange, Iceland is Emil Bondevik, Denmark is Mikkel Densen, Cyprus is Frascuelo Spyrou, and Ukraine is Irina Braginski.

* * *

He was never one to worry. Whenever his friends got into a fight, he always let someone else make a fuss about it. Whenever his father had difficulties at work he never meddled, knowing that there would be nothing he could say or do that could change anything. Even when his mother died, he didn't fall into despair. Sure, he cried, but he would never let himself become controlled by his emotions.

At least, that's what he would tell himself every night before he went to sleep.

In reality, his emotions ruled him much more than he would care to admit, but he was excellent at keeping them in check. Being emotional made you vulnerable, and he wasn't willing to expose himself like that to anyone.

Turns out that when you bottle up your emotions like that, they find a way to manifest in some other way. He found himself with abilities he'd only heard in the bedtime stories his mother would tell him about his grandparents – stories she had also heard as a child straight from the source. The stories involved magical potions and grand adventures with amazing creatures that couldn't possibly exist.

Except what he could do was very real. He had made sure it was, lest he lose his mind. Once he was able to determine this, he knew that he could never tell anyone, and became even more of a social oddball than he already was. Of course, all his best friends thought that it was a natural result of his mother's early death, so they never questioned it and let him sort through his own issues while they continued with their lives as they had before. He was convinced that his life would stay the same for the foreseeable future, and that entering High School wouldn't change anything.

When he saw the graffiti on the school entrance that warm September morning, the entire foundation of his life was rocked to its very core.  _There are others?_  He had thought to himself hopefully, as his friends began speculating about who could have done it.

He clutched his pendant, gripping lit like a lifeline.  _If there were others, why didn_ _'_ _t they find me? Why did they leave me all alone to figure out my ability?_ He stared wistfully at the entrance for a moment more before continuing inside, pushing the incident as far back in his mind as he could.

It wasn't until he got to class that he realized he had accidentally ripped his pendant off, and it was nowhere to be found.

"So in the 3rd century, B.C., the Ancient Romans- Excuse me? Where do you think you're going?"

He stared blankly at the teacher, who didn't flinch and pointed back to his desk. "If you need to use the bathroom, you may request the pass. Otherwise, sit down."

"May I have the bathroom pass, then?" He responded softly, each word dragging along his throat like broken glass.

"No."

He clenched his fists as the teacher turned back to the blackboard.

"Since you so rudely interrupted my class, you can wait until the bell rings."

By the time he was able to search the entryway, the pendant was long gone – and he knew it was only a matter of time before the withdrawal symptoms began.

As in turned out, the sand in the proverbial hourglass ran out one week later.

* * *

"It wasn't me." Ivan said in his normal, frighteningly cheery voice.

"Russia, we won't be mad if it was you. We just need to know so we can prepare ourselves," Arthur said through gritted teeth. Kiku and Natalia were sitting down at the table nearby watching the two blonds argue.

"I'm telling the truth," Ivan insisted, becoming visibly annoyed, and turned to Natalia, "This is unlike you. Aren't you gonna go crazy on him for confronting me?"

Natalia yawned, "I would, but I was up all night and don't have the energy. Besides, if he thinks you can get into a locked room without breaking the door down or messing with the lock, it means he's acknowledging your skill."

"Wait, how do you know all that? The announcement just said that it had been broken into," Arthur said, eying her suspiciously.

"I was bored, so I went to go take a look at it for myself." Natalia growled, staring right back, "Whoever broke in clearly did so with magic. The only reason they knew someone broke in at all, and it wasn't just the janitor being lousy at his job, is because the door was open. The key needs to be in the lock in order for the door to open at all."

"That seems a bit excessive for a supply closet," Kiku commented.

"They keep paint in there, and the principal is paranoid that someone will vandalize the school with it," Ivan explained.

"Oh please. Who would go out of their way to vandalize the school with paint instead of toilet paper or something?" Arthur said rolling his eyes. The other three stared pointedly at him. "Oh yeah. I guess I would."

"Anyway," Natalia continued, "When they said nothing was taken it was the truth. But what they failed to mention was that it was ransacked. I couldn't tell if they performed any type of spell once they got in there because of all the fumes from the paint, but I don't think they did."

"I think we can safely assume that they were looking for something and didn't find it," Kiku frowned. "Perhaps something valuable that the staff didn't want to risk someone stealing from the lost and found?"

"Well," Arthur interuppted, the tension in the room dissipated, "Norway texted to say he wasn't coming. When I asked why he said it was too many idiots to list."

"I saw him sitting with Mikkel Denson today," Ivan snickered, "He certainly makes me want to crawl into bed with a headache."

"Yeah, well," Arthur glanced around the room. Ivan seemed content, while Kiku looked bored and Natalia seemed to be on the verge of passing out, "Dear God Belarus! Why are you so tired?"

"I was trying to perfect some potions. Not the Amortentia, but some of the more useful ones like a Polyjuice Potion."

"A Polyjuice Potion?" Kiku repeated, eyebrows raised, "What do you need that for?"

"You never know. We are in a secret magic club after all. I thought it might come in handy at some point," Natalia sighed, "I need to stop by the Magic Box though. I'm fresh out of lacewing flies."

"The  _Magic Box_?" Arthur asked incredulously, "You mean, from  _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_?"

"Never saw the show, but I'm assuming the Magic Box was the name of some kind of one-stop shop for the magically inclined? The owner probably ripped off the name in order to capitalize on brand recognition or something."

"My, my Belarus," Ivan said, "You are speaking quite well for someone running on no sleep."

"Just you wait," Natalia smirked, "I'll pass out reciting Greek remedial spells before you know it."

"Wait, you know remedial spells?" Kiku asked, clearly surprised. Arthur silently agreed, as any skill with healing would be infinitely more useful than her strange potion-making.

"I know the words anyway," Natalia clarified, waving her hand. "I don't have a talent for it though, so I doubt I'd be able to do much. I could make you  _look_  fine I suppose…"

"Oh, I see," Kiku sighed. "After that demonstration with Norway's troll, it's become pretty clear that we need someone with a talent for healing spells."

"I could learn a few healing spells," Arthur pointed out. "You said I had broad talent remember?"

"Yeah, but you kinda suck at normal spells," Ivan chirped. "You would probably make us grow an extra head or make the wound double in size."

"Yeah, probably," Natalia agreed.

"That is the fear," Kiku conceded.

Arthur made a mental note to leave them dying on the ground somewhere should the opportunity arise.

* * *

Clearly, the store wasn't named the Magic Box simply because the owner wanted to take advantage of the  _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_  fandom.

When Arthur entered the store, he felt like he was watching the program itself. The dimensions and arrangement of the store looked almost identical to the layout of the store on the show. Except none of the characters were there - hanging out and talking about how to kill the next vampire or sneak mood stabilizers into Dawn's food without her noticing.

While he stood with Ivan and Kiku in the doorway, taking in their surroundings, Natalia rushed into the store, clearly intent on stocking up on anything else she may be missing in addition to the lacewing flies.

"I'm sorry, but could you try and keep the doorway clear? It's not too crowded now but once the sun goes down there'll be a decent amount of people here."

Arthur looked over at the counter to see an attractive older woman waving at them, and he hesitated before walking over to her. Ivan followed, while Kiku began examining some weaponry that hung on a nearby wall.

"You all wouldn't happen to be the club that Natalia mentioned on her last visit here are you?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows in shock, but then looked at it logically. Sure, membership in the magic club was a closely guarded secret, but surely telling this woman wouldn't be dangerous. After all, she was their supplier.

"Yes, I am the talented leader of this group," Arthur said triumphantly, channeling Alfred's enthusiasm.

The woman grinned, "Talented Leader, you say? Then you must be Honda Kiku. I had pictured you as Asian…"

Ivan snorted, and Arthur turned around to glare at him. "No, Kiku is over there looking at your sword collection. I'm Arthur Kirkland."

"Arthur Kirkland?" The woman frowned, "Natalia never mentioned you. She said there were three boys named Kiku, Ivan, and Lukas, and some kind of annoying monkey they had as a mascot."

By this point Ivan had begun snickering openly. Kiku had overheard the conversation and looked equally amused. Arthur was about to retort when Natalia returned carrying a large glass jar filled with flies.

"Belarus! Why are you telling people I'm a monkey mascot?" Arthur snapped.

"Well, all you do is make a spectacle of yourself for no apparent reason, and you can barely do any spells, so it's not that much of a stretch," Natalia replied flatly, clearly more focused on going over her mental checklist of supplies.

"Funny, I've never seen you in action." Arthur countered, and motioned over his shoulder, "and  _Russia-chan_  here hasn't brought anything to the table at all, so who knows if he can actually do magic?"

Kiku grew somewhat pale at this observation and Natalia looked a bit more alert. Behind him, Ivan stopped laughing "Well, if you must know, I can do a little bit of the defensive stuff Japan did the other day, but not much. I also know a few spells that can manipulate water and wind. However, my specialties are charms and curses." Ivan glanced behind him, an unreadable expression on his face, "Especially curses. Isn't that right Japan?"

Kiku nodded, and pretended to be interested in the jar in Netalia's possession than clarify on what Ivan meant. Arthur shared an uneasy glance with the shopkeeper before she composed herself again. "Well, is there anything else I can help you find?"

"Actually-" Kiku started to say, before he heard a door open nearby and the sound of muffled voices.

"Oh, my son and his friends must have arrived to help move in the new stock." The shopkeeper remarked, checking her watch.

"Your son?" Arthur asked nervously.

"Yes, I have a son about your age. I believe he and his friends attend the same school as you do, actually."

Arthur and Kiku exchanged alarmed looks, but before they could react, they heard a door open and a box hit the ground.

"Wow, clearly you guys aren't as smart as Lukas said you were if you're here in broad daylight."

The boy who spoke looked similar to Lukas, but Arthur noticed that his hair was lighter and somewhat shorter. That and his gaze seemed to betray a lot more emotion. It took Arthur a moment to realize that this must be Lukas's brother.

"Could you put that box over there on the counter?" The shopkeeper motioned to a large table at the center of the room.

Emil shrugged. "No problem Mrs. Karpusi."

"We have to hide!" Arthur hissed as Emil lifted the box again.

"Over here," Natalia hissed, setting aside her jar of flies and motioning the others over into a corner.

"What good will this do?" Arthur asked after complying. He was standing uncomfortably close to Kiku and Ivan, and the trio avoided making eye contact with one another.

"Just be quiet," Natalia whispered, and then continued to hum under her breath. Arthur was about to ask her again when the door swung open and a couple of boys Arthur didn't recognize entered the room carrying boxes.

"Heracles fell asleep again, Mrs. Karpusi," one of the boys said, clearly trying to hide his annoyance, "Frascuelo's outside trying to wake him up."

The shopkeeper sighed and exited the store. Emil seemed to be eying the corner where the trapped Magic Club stood, his puzzled expression causing Arthur to wonder what exactly was happening.

The boy who spoke earlier checked his cell phone. "If Heracles gets off his ass, we may actually have time to go to the market today after all."

"You know, Sadiq, we could just leave him here," Emil remarked, turning his attention back to his friends.

"I guess. But then he'd be a huge pain in the ass for the rest of the week," Sadiq replied. "And Heracles can be really damn annoying. Right Gupta?"

The smaller boy nodded, more interested in examining some of the more bizarre objects in the crate he had carried in.

"I can't believe people actually buy this stuff though. Must all be nutters," Emil smirked, obviously taunting the club in the corner.

"Probably," Sadiq snorted, as he picked up Natalia's jar off the counter, "But don't let Heracles' mom hear you say that. I think she really believes in this crap."

Arthur heard some screaming from outside, and saw a boy with long, curly hair stumble in carrying another crate. Mrs. Karpusi and another boy followed him in, the later carrying a crate as well.

"If you boys could help me unpack this stuff before you go that would be great," Mrs. Karpusi remarked cheerfully. Emil coughed, and motioned towards the corner. A look of understanding seemed to appear on the shopkeeper's face, but before she could say anything, Arthur noticed the other boys following Emil's gaze.

"Holy crap!" Sadiq exclaimed, strutted over towards them. Arthur felt himself tense, ready to make a run for it, when he felt Natalia grip his arm and give him a hard look.

"This is amazing!" Arthur turned and saw that Sadiq had walked right past them, and was examining the weaponry display that Kiku had been looking at earlier. He turned back to his friends, grinning. "Hey, Mrs. Karpusi, do you think that I could-"

"Absolutely not," Mrs. Karpusi interrupted, crossing her arms. "Those are way too dangerous." Sadiq looked disappointed, while the other boys were visibly relieved. "Anyway," Mrs. Karpusi motioned to the boxes, "You guys can help me with these tomorrow. Go off and have fun."

"Sweet," Frascuelo said, speaking for the first time. Arthur felt Kiku fidget a bit next to him, likely fighting the desire to jump out and make both sides of his haircut the same length.

Sadiq practically dragged Emil and Gupta out the door while Frascuelo persuaded a sleepy Heracles to follow them out.

"Finally!" Ivan exhaled, breaking away from the group once they had gone.

"What just happened?" Arthur asked Natalia, who had picked up her jar of flies and was examining it for damage.

"I can do illusions remember?" Natalia stated, seemingly content that the product was still in good shape, "I made it so all they saw there was a radiator."

"I apologize for that. I had forgotten that you were a secret club," Mrs. Karpusi said, making a zipping motion with her fingers. "I only had Heracles and his friends help because my back has been acting up. None of them have actually been in here before, now that I think about it."

"It's okay, but please do give us fair warning next time," Kiku said as he brushed himself off.

"Anyway, I had come back to ask you," Natalia interrupted, holding up the jar, "How much for the flies?"

* * *

By the time Arthur returned to the school, clubs were starting to let out. At the same time, some sports teams began their practices and the street was lined with students carrying their equipment from home, and Arthur silently thanked a nameless deity that none of them had been crowding the subway car they had taken back.

"I'll see you tomorrow, you guys!" Kiku waved, before emerging into the line of sight of the other students, "I have soccer practice and I don't want to be late for the first meeting."

"You're on the soccer team?" the other three said in unison, surprised that Kiku, who was admittedly strong but small in size, would be participating in such a physically demanding sport.

"Yeah, our first game is on Friday, so we need to work fast!" Kiku shouted back, before running inside to meet the rest of the team. When the trio walked inside a moment later, Arthur recognized a few of the players from his junior high soccer team amongst the group that Kiku was standing with.

Arthur glanced at Ivan and Natalia, "Do either of you guys play sports?"

Natalia shook her head, while Ivan grinned, "I play hockey. My favorite part is when I punch one of those dirty players in the face."

"Charming," Arthur deadpanned as they rounded the corner and entered the deserted portion of the school. "So do either of you have any theories about who broke into that closet?"

"It'll probably happen again," Ivan observed, "If they're using magic to break into something as simple as a storage closet, they must be planning to do something else or they wouldn't have showed their hand to us like they did."

"I agree," Natalia said, "and this way, we get the blame for everything they do."

Arthur frowned, "I wonder who it is though. I mean, there can't be that many people with magical abilities here."

"Actually, people with magical potential do have a habit of gravitating towards each other," Natalia said with a bit more feeling than necessary, causing Ivan to speed up and walk next to Arthur.

"Well, I don't think any of my friends aside from Nat have any abilities."

Natalia kicked him in the back of the shin, "Hey dumbass, you used my real name."

"Yeah but I think club is basically over now. We just need to put your supplies in the classroom and lock up," Arthur pointed out, and then turned back to Ivan, "and that would consist of?"

"Well, there's Raivis Galante, Eduard Von Bock, my sister Irina, and-" Ivan cast his gaze downward, "Toris Lorinatis and Tino Väinämöinen."

"That's a mouthful. It's like no one around here can have a normal name," Arthur paused, then asked quietly, "What happened there anyway?"

"None of your damn business," Natalie yowled, causing the two boys to jump.

"It's… complicated." Ivan said, downcast, "Let's just say I don't always know how to connect with people."

_No kidding_. Arthur thought to himself. He felt a bit bad for the guy though, after all there's bound to be some mental scarring with Natalia as a sister.

"None of my friends have any abilities, at least from what I can tell," Arthur remarked, getting back on subject, "That includes Michelle St. Ange, Alfred Jones, Leon whatever-his-name-is, and… oh god I feel like I'm forgetting someone."

"Toris?" Ivan said the name sadly and Natalia sent Arthur a glare so deadly he was surprised his clothes hadn't burst into flames.

"No, um, that bloke Williams. What was his name? Anyway, none of them have magic potential as far as I can tell."

"What about that Heracles kid?" Natalia thought out loud, "His mother owns the Magic Box so she probably has abilities."

"But abilities aren't always inherited," Arthur pointed out, "None of my brothers can use magic, and you guys said your sister can't either."

"-and I don't think Lukas's brother can either," Ivan added, recovered from his previous distress.

"Though I still think one of them may have an ability that's never been triggered," Arthur looked at the others and shrugged, "Doesn't matter though, since we're obviously looking for someone who has triggered their abilities."

"And we're assuming they have control of them," Ivan said in a tone that sent shivers up Arthur's spine, "The year after I discovered my abilities I had a difficult time keeping myself from doing magic by accident."

"Swell. That means we could go into class one day and the roof could cave in," Arthur groaned.

"Well, if that's the case then they'll likely be tell-tale signs around them. We should keep our eyes peeled." Natalia said as they entered the room. She put her flies into a cabinet and began unloading all her other potion-making materials as well. Kiku's equipment was already stored inside on a higher shelf.

"Yeah, I lucked out in that things just broke around me, so everyone thought I was clumsy," Arthur said, grabbing his spellbook off the table as Ivan did the same.

"For me, let's just say it didn't particularly matter who saw," Natalia said as she finished up. Arthur realized that he didn't feel any urgency to learn their family history. After all, he didn't particularly like having nightmares.

* * *

When the door swung open, he realized that the effects had begun. Without that charm, this would happen a lot.

Rifling through the contents of the closet, the boy huffed,  _it_ _'_ _s not here._ He stared blankly at the door, unsure of how to reverse the spell to close and lock it. He couldn't exactly take the key, they'd know it was missing.  _Well, it_ _'_ _s not like I knew the spell to open the damn door in the first place._

The door had swung open as he was headed down the deserted hallway to meet his friends, who would probably be worrying where he was by now.

And that girl had been following him again. He doubted that she was doing it intentionally, but he could sense her body doing it on instinct.  _Hunter._  He thought to himself, shivering. Lucky for him, it didn't appear that she had been triggered, so he had the solace that she wouldn't bother him unless something major happened and her ability became active.

_Screw it_ , he said, and shut the door before racing down the hallway to meet his friends,  _The Janitor will just think that he forgot to lock the door. No one will notice._

When he reached the door, he saw his friends waving him over. As he was about to go over to meet them, he felt a jolt as another student brushed up against his shoulder on their way out of the building.

_Arthur Kirkland._  The boy thought to himself.  _He or one of his little friends may have taken it. I should check it out on Friday._ He gave the normal greeting to his friends as they headed off for their usual afternoon gathering, groaning inwardly at their insistence at taking in the sights of the city.  _After all, that_ _'_ _s the only day these guys don_ _'_ _t have scheduled out for me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you unfamiliar with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Dawn is the little sister character well known for being extremely high maintenance and being the living embodiment of every over-the-top angst-ridden-teen story ever told.


	4. Subway Rides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all the characters have assigned names so I had to look up common names for each language or country. Hong Kong is Li Xiao Chun - but everyone just calls him Leon, Seychelles is Michelle St. Ange, Belgium is Laura Janssen, and Ukraine is Irina Braginski.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, The train has been delayed due to traffic up ahead. Please be patient."

"God Fucking Damnit," Natalia cursed. Nearby, a woman with small children gave her a look of contempt. Natalia gave her a death glare, and the woman immediately abandoned her seat and moved to the other side of the car.

"It can't be helped- Natalia, what are you doing?" Her companion asked in confusion as Natalia ushered her over to the empty seat.

"Irina, if you're sitting down, those boys over there can't stare at the watermelons you're smuggling in your shirt," Natalia responded.

"O-oh, I see," Irina responded, her face turning a deep red. The nearby group of boys did, in fact, look annoyed at this development.

"You're right though. We chose a pretty bad time to take the subway," Natalia sighed, leaning against one of the doors.

It was Friday evening, and in a couple of hours the first soccer game would begin. While Natalia didn't have any friends on the team that anyone knew of, no one questioned her desire to go because Ivan had said to go – and no one questioned Ivan about anything.

Well, except for Irina. However, she was happy that Ivan had decided to show some enthusiasm for something new, so she didn't question it.

 _Starting to wish she had_ , Natalia thought to herself,  _Though it could be worse._ Irina was easily the most tolerable of the group. She could've been stuck with that brat Raivis or that douchebag Eduard.

 _Or Toris_ _…_ Natalia felt herself cringe,  _I really fucked that up._

"I wonder when the train will move, though." Irina remarked, leaning back and causing her breasts to bounce upward. Natalia quickly repositioned herself and heard a bunch of disappointed groans behind her.

"It could be a while. Let's just hope we make it there on time."

"I just hope Ivan makes it there on time," Irina replied thoughtfully. "I'm hoping that if he expands his social circle a little bit, maybe he'll…"

"He'll be fine," Natalia replied stiffly, breaking the silence. Irina flinched. It wasn't a secret, especially from Irina, that Natalia was very concerned with their brother's affairs. Irina likely had some inkling that her intentions were romantic, but seemed to go out of her way not to bring it up.

 _When did you turn into such a wimp?_ Natalia gazed thoughtfully at her sister.  _From the stories Ivan and our parents always told, you were always the bravest_ _–_ _the most daring._

Irina seemed to notice the boys staring at her again, having moved across from her, and did her best to block their view once more. Natalia sighed,  _I wish I knew her back then. If I had such a strong sister back in Belarus, maybe_ _…_

 _No,_  Natalia winced, sending a death glare at the boys that made then disregard the warning signs and move to the adjacent car,  _Don_ _'_ _t think about that. That part of your life is over._

* * *

"-I wouldn't recommend taking the subway right about now. All trains in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx are delayed with others at a standstill-" The traffic girl on the radio delivered at rapid-fire speed.

 _Perfect,_ The boy sighed in content, paying the cabbie and walking up to the school. Due to the subway problems, the school appeared mostly deserted, and only the adjoining soccer field showed any signs of life.  _We had to be the 'special school' that had to have their own field near the school,_  he added, annoyed, as he rushed inside, hoping that no one saw him.

His friends had seen to it that he had been dragged around to some event or another, and he was exhausted. There were times he almost felt like dropping in any random spot and taking a nap.

 _Focus,_ his internal voice screamed,  _This Magic Club may have your pendant_ _…_ _or maybe even_ _…_

The boy looked up, examining the signs himself. On each set of lockers, bright yellow arrows glowed in the dark hallway, pointing the way to the meeting room. He had to admit, it was rather clever how they had gone about this. Whoever had wrote the message on the school entryway had also painted directions along the halls, putting a charm on them so only those who had activated magical abilities could see them.  _Kinda like the spell that made Hogwarts look like a set of ruins,_  he smirked to himself.

He was surprised to find himself walking in the direction of the downstairs club rooms.  _They wouldn_ _'_ _t be bold enough to have the clubroom in such an obvious area, would they? After all that effort they put in with the spell-casting._

However, he quickly found himself diverging off into a passageway he had never noticed before. Before he knew it, he was standing outside an empty classroom with all arrows indicating that he had reached his destination.

 _There doesn_ _'_ _t seem to be anyone here_ , the boy thought to himself as he turned the doorknob, discovering it unlocked. Of course they wouldn't need any security. As far as they knew, they were the only magical persons around, and the magical protections already in place would've prevented mere muggles from finding this place.

For the next few minutes, he was like a kid in a candy store. Everywhere he looked, he discovered some kind of magical instrument or ingredient, many of which he had never seen before in real life.

His largest twinge of curiosity came when he found the potions book.  _I_ _'_ _m here to look for my pendant, and I shouldn_ _'_ _t be doing any magic without it,_ his subconscious reasoned. He found himself flipping through the book anyway.

He stopped, gripping the book until his knuckles turned white, when he found the spell he had been looking for.

 _Screw it. When_ _'_ _s the next time I_ _'_ _ll have the opportunity to try this spell?_ He rationalized to himself, as he bounded over to the counter and pulled the cauldron onto the ground. As he raided their supply cabinet, he became giddy when he discovered that all the needed ingredients were there.

Well, all except for one, but that could be found easily enough.

 _After adding the powdered unicorn horn, slowly bring the potion to a boil._  He quickly tapped the side of the cauldron, causing the flame underneath to grow slightly. Glancing at the clock, one of the few normal fixtures in the room, he began to wonder if he would have enough time to pull this off before the students began arriving for the soccer game.

 _Guess I_ _'_ _ll be cutting it close then,_  He thought to himself, staring intently at the cauldron as if it would speed up the process.

* * *

"I can't just sit here! I should be helping the conductors! After all I am-!"

"Oh shut up!" Arthur and Michelle yelled in unison. Nearby, Toris jumped, startled by the outburst. He wasn't the only one – almost everyone in the compartment was stealing glances of amusement and annoyance at their group. Leon was one of the few who didn't seem to notice, as he was listening to his iPod and staring through the subway map on the wall across from him.

"But you guys~!" Alfred pouted.

"Wow from confident busybody to kicked puppy in two seconds flat. You should join the drama club," Arthur observed, turning the newspaper page. A couple of people nearby sent him annoyed looks before scrolling through their kindles.  _Pretentious gits,_  Arthur thought to himself, much preferring the sensation of type on a paper page.

"Maybe we should've just stayed at school for a few hours. Would it have really killed us?" Michelle sighed, looking at the time on her phone for what seemed like the millionth time.

"That would've made more sense wouldn't it?" Arthur mused, "It's too late now though. We'll just have to wait it out and hope we make it on time."

"But Artie I wanna see the cheerleaders!" Arthur looked up to see Alfred standing above him and doing his best to look like an actual kicked puppy. Instead of justifying him with a reaction, Arthur simply rolled his eyes and continued reading about Beilschmidt Industries' acquisition of all former locations of  _Borders_  bookstores in the Northeast.

"I don't know what you see in them Alfred," Michelle snapped, "Except for Elisabeta Héderváry, all of them are huge sluts and/or friends of Francis Bonnefoy."

"Which is ironic, considering she's easily the hottest," Alfred grinned, earning him a light punch in the arm from Michelle.

"I don't think any of them are friends with Francis though," Toris pondered, "Well, aside from Laura Janssen, but she seems-"

"-pleasant enough? Yeah," Michelle finished, crossing her arms thoughtfully, "She definitely isn't slutty, but I don't know, if you're a girl whose close friends with Monsieur Cop-a-feel, I kinda have to judge you."

"You really hate him don't you?" Everyone jumped, and turned to see that Leon had taken off his headphone, "Like, I almost wonder if you actually-"

"No, no way in hell," Michelle fumed.

"Denial."

"I'm not in denial!"

"Denying Denial," Leon said in a sing-song voice as he put in headphones back on.

"Why you!" Michelle puffed out her cheeks.

"Calm down 'Chelle, he just likes pushing people's buttons. He bugs me often enough," Arthur said, giving up on any possibility of getting any reading done and stuffing his newspaper into his bag.

"Yeah, well, anyway," Michelle said, calming down significantly, "What are you guys gonna be for Halloween?"

"Halloween? But that's over a month-"

"Jason Voorhees."

"Victorian Era Vampire."

"Dragon."

"-away," Toris finished, looking at the others in surprise.

"Hey, Halloween is serious business around here," Alred grinned, sitting back down and nearly knocking Arthur to the ground, "'Chelle what were you thinking of being?"

"I don't know, to be honest," Michelle sighed, "I was originally going to be a mermaid, but that dress that Kate Middleton wore was just so cute-"

* * *

"-and then I said, why don't you just get a hotter girlfriend."

"Raivis you are completely clueless," the bespectacled boy next to him remarked, shaking his head in contempt.

"Really though, Eduard" Ivan added, taking a swig of his water bottle, "He's said much worse to us, and he's often drunk too… kinda like he is right now."

"He's drunk?" Eduard let out a shocked whisper.

Ivan rolled his eyes.  _For a supposed prodigy, he can be really fucking dense sometimes._

"I'm not drunk, I'm just relaxed," Raivis exclaimed. Ivan had to admit he was impressed at how well such a small boy could handle vodka – and without slurring his words either.

"On the subway though? Honestly, could you-"

"You wanna fight me about it? You lowly piece of shit?" Raivis growled, holding up a pen to Eduard's throat. Eduard seemed torn between annoyance, anger, and general fright.

Ivan grinned and took another swig. He always enjoyed the occasions when Raivis's drinking would make him uncharacteristically violent and confrontational.  _Really says a lot about how screwed up we are,_ Ivan thought happily, briefly swirling the vodka from his water bottle in his mouth before swallowing.

"Raivis, not on the subway. Too many witnesses, da?" He joked. Eduard shot him a measured glare, and Ivan simply smiled right back.

"Anyway," Raivis said, lowering his pen, "Why do you want to go to this game anyway? It's not like you have any friends on the team."

Eduard stared at Raivis in horror but Ivan's smile remained intact, "I'm going because it's a change of pace. Though I suppose we could always go and hang out alone in the vacant lot next to my house."

"No thank you," Eduard squeaked.

"Yeah that place sucks," Raivis groaned, flopping down on an empty seat as the majority of the passengers stood up in preparation of getting off, as many had grown impatient with the regular delays and decided to walk instead. "I'm sorry," his tone seemed to change, though his eyes clearly indicated that he still wasn't in his completely right mind, "It was Tino who thought it sucked."

Eduard stared at Raivis, his jaw open and his eyes bulging. Ivan felt himself grip his water bottle until it exploded, sending what little of the vodka was left spilling all over the floor.

Raivis didn't seem to notice the reactions to mentioning Tino's name. Instead, he appeared fixated on the ad for T-Mobile directly across from him.

The train stopped, and Ivan joined the sea of passengers departing, grabbing Eduard and dragging him off the train as well.

"What about…" Eduard trailed off, eying the subway car nervously.

"Raivis looks much too tired for a soccer game," Ivan paused, turning and flashing a smile at Eduard, "He looks like he could use a long relaxing walk around the city, da?"

Eduard nodded, looking like he was about to wet himself.

* * *

 _And now for the final ingredient,_  the boy said to himself, standing up and hesitantly rolling up his sleeve. He winced as he drew the blade across his arm, drawing blood.

 _Now I just need to add it in and-,_  his eyes widened,  _-no, not now!_

His arm began to spark as his magic began to take effect, though some blood had made its way into the cauldron, many more sparks had found their way in.

 _NO!_ He screamed inwardly, clutching his arm in pain and staring at the potion in horror. Violent red smoke had begun pouring out, filling the room. Scrambling to his feet, he dashed towards the door, covering himself in red dust in the process.

 _What was I thinking?_ He screamed at himself as he used the arrows to find his way out of the corridor. He didn't stop until he was outside the building, only partially registering that he was running past the soccer field.

Stopping behind the bleachers, he held his breath momentarily and closed his eyes, expelling all the dust from his body and covering the nearby grass with it. Stumbling away a few feet away, he collapsed on one of the lowest bleachers, desperately catching his breath.

 _If it was going to explode, it would have as soon as the sparks began,_  he reasoned, rolling up his sleeve.  _Damn it I really fucked up, I didn_ _'_ _t even look for the pendant!_

He glanced at the school, wondering if he could get back in, before noticing a couple of the soccer players wave at him as they ran past on drills, including Honda Kiku. He knew he couldn't go back in now that the Japanese boy had seen him – as it would only be a matter of time before the mess was discovered. He needed to keep as much suspicion off of himself as he possibly could.

Forcing a smile, he waved back at Kiku and some of his teammates as they lapped around again.

 _I have to go back at some point though,_  He vowed,  _I never got a chance to look for that pendant. And without it_ _…_ he reached towards his neck, grasping at the phantom of his missing necklace.

… _there_ _'_ _s no way I_ _'_ _ll ever be able to see her again._

* * *

"Finally!" Natalia gasped as she reached the sidewalk, having escaped from the cluster of body odor she'd been trapped in for what seemed like hours. She looked around at her surroundings, and drew in a large breath of fresh air…

…and began choking when a truck drove by and doused her in exhaust.  _This is New York City Natalia,_ she scolded herself,  _What is with your delusions of fresh air? You must have been down there longer than you thought._

"Ivan!" Irina shouted and waved, and Natalia noticed Ivan emerging from the subway exit across the street in a flood of people, though she could also pick out the figure of Eduard Von Bock in the crowd.

"Where's Raivis?" Natalia asked, noticing that Eduard looked very uncomfortable as the sole lackey.

"He had another engagement he needed to attend to," Ivan said, the smile on his face unusually strained.

If Natalia had to guess, Raivis probably put his foot in his mouth again, and as a result Ivan ditched him.  _Good riddance,_  Natalia thought, eying Eduard warily. Aside from Toris, Raivis was easily the most aggravating of Ivan's minions.

"We should get going. We have a lot of walking to do, and we don't want to be late," Irina chirped, causing the others to jump.

"Ah yes, of course," Eduard said, quickly glancing to his left before guiding Ivan in the opposite direction. Natalia turned, and felt her blood boil when she spotted Arthur enter her line of vision alongside Alfred and his band of merry idiots.

… _and Toris,_  Natalia inwardly yelped, simultaneously understanding Irina and Eduard's reactions and reeling at her own.  _If anything,_  she reasoned to herself, trailing behind the rest of her group,  _he should be afraid of me. After all I did try to break his arm last year_ _…_

Still, she found herself beginning to hum an all-too-familiar melody. Soon, she spotted Toris's group turning down a side-street in an effort to avoid the large crowd they believed had formed in front of them.

* * *

"Damnit," Alfred huffed, leading his friends down a side-street.

"It can't be helped," Leon reasoned, his iPod tucked safely away in his bag, "The subways are basically in gridlock, so everyone's trying to walk for a change."

"I wish I was a member of the Magic Club just so I could fly there on my broomstick," interjected Michelle, finishing the contents of her third water bottle, "Beginning of autumn my rosy red ass. It feels like I'm back in Seychelles in the dead of summer."

"Be careful Michelle, if Francis hears you talking about your rosy red ass he'll probably write a song about it," Leon grinned. "Though, I think Arthur may be the more pressing issue."

"What is that supposed to… Arthur, why are you staring at my butt?"

Arthur froze. He had allowed himself to zone out, and now that he had snapped back into reality, he realized he was indeed staring at her backside.

"I'm sorry! I was zoning out! I would never do something like that!" Arthur yelped.

"So you're saying my ass isn't good enough for you to sing about?"

"No… On the contrary, you're quite fetching actually." Arthur said, his face flushing beet red. After a moment of silence, he looked up to see a surprised expression on Michelle's face.

"I-I was just teasing. But thanks, I guess," Michelle stuttered, her cheeks fringed pink as she turned away.

"Hey, why are you guys dawdling?" Alfred yelled, dragging Toris along and he backtracked to where the trio was standing.

"Arthur was just going on about how much he loved Michelle's ass," Leon snickered, causing Toris and Michelle to match Arthur's deep red blush.

Alfred simply stood there, jaw hanging open.

"Stop looking at me like that you git!" Arthur exclaimed, causing Alfred to jump and compose himself.

"Sorry, it's just that you're such a prude. I always thought only teacups could get you hot and bothered. That's all."

"Excuse me?" Arthur said, staring at Alfred in confusion.

"He means you have no game. I'm inclined to agree actually. You weren't very smooth there," Leon snickered.

"Actually I was wondering who taught Alfred the phrase 'hot and bothered,'" Arthur deadpanned, "It seems like way too complicated a phrase for him to master on his own."

Alfred shrugged, "I'm just quoting what Francis said."

"You talk to that git?" Arthur and Michelle screeched in unison, causing a couple of people to give him odd looks as they passed by.

"Gah! Calm down! It's not like I'm bros with him or anything. It was small talk before Science started."

"You guys should talk," Leon countered, "Francis is always your best friend when anything regarding Philosophy is brought up in History or English."

"Oh shut up Leon. You're the one who stirred up all this in the first place," Athur snapped. Leon mimed crying before playfully shoving him.

"Can we talk about something besides, well, any of this please?" Michelle interjected, as she motioned for the others to continue walking. "I heard that Ivan Braginski was going to be at the game."

"That's odd," Alfred frowned, ignoring Arthur's array of indignant muttering. "From what I understood, he never showed any interest in the sports teams aside from hockey. Right, Toris?"

"Um, yeah," Toris replied nervously. Arthur gave the boy a once over and practically collapsed at the amount of anxiety he sensed radiating from him.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Michelle reassured him, though Toris practically jumped ten feet in the air when she touched his shoulder.

"Why would he be worried? Ivan wouldn't do anything in those crowds," said Alfred.

"Well, I know Ivan is upset too, but he's not really…" Toris mumbled.

"Alfred, he's clearly terrified of the psychopath who attacked him last year," Michelle said, before clamping her hand over her mouth and giving Toris and apologetic look.

"Attacked? What are you talking about?" Arthur asked. Leon looked similarly perplexed.

"Nevermind. Forget I brought it up," Michelle covered, giving the two boys a look that seemed to say,  _I_ _'_ _ll tell you later._

The rest of the trek was spent in uncomfortable silence, though every once in a while Arthur would mumble to himself about how he had plenty of game.

* * *

Students began pouring into the bleachers, having won in their battle against the crowded streets and subways. When it was time for the cheerleaders to come out for their pre-game routine (which they more-or-less recycled from the Homecoming football game the week before) the stands were completely full, causing a couple of students to comment on the odd level of enthusiasm this school had for soccer, one of the most under-appreciated sports in the United States.

The boy had managed to settle down, and now that his friends had arrived allowed himself to begin talking about the game. Nearby, he spotted Francis Bonnefoy attempting to flirt with a couple of the cheerleaders. Ignoring him, one gazed up at the stands, and he felt himself bristle and immediately turned away.

 _Here_ _'_ _s hoping she lives a long and happy life unaware of what she truly is._

The boy managed to take his mind off of this as well, as the game begun he found himself being swallowed by the wave of enthusiasm that rippled through the crowd.

As a result, no one paid any attention when a layer of red dust behind the bleachers began to softly glow, before sinking into the ground completely.


	5. The Soccer Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Norway is Lukas Bondevik, Hong Kong is Li Xiao Chun - but everyone just calls him Leon, Seychelles is Michelle St. Ange, Bulgaria is Nikolay Lechkov, Belgium is Laura Janssen, Iceland is Emil Bondevik, Denmark is Mikkel Densen, Uganda is Lutalo Patel, Netherlands is Abel Janssen, Cuba is Carlos Machado and Zimbabwe is Japera Ncube. And Denmark is lazy and Americanizes names and/or shortens them.

* * *

"I don't get it," Michelle sighed, staring at the players darting around on the field. Unlike the other students, she wasn't particularly interested in the game itself, and only agreed to come because everyone else was going.

In all honesty, she was surprised at how excited her friends were getting. Sure, Alfred was into sports in every sense, but Arthur and Leon weren't exactly athletic types, and what little she knew about Toris seemed to place him outside that category as well.

"We're winning. Nothing else to get," Alfred stated, before joining Arthur in yelling at the referee, who had just awarded the opposing team a penalty kick.

"But I would still like to understand how this works…" Michelle stopped talking, realizing that no one was listening. Bored, she scanned the stands and recognized a handful of the students from Junior High and Elementary School. World Academy W was one of a handful of privately operated schools that saw students from all sorts of different backgrounds and cultures. The high amount of financial aid allowed a lot of students who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to attend, resulting in easily one of the most diverse groups of students in the entire city.

Each School system was assigned one of four letters – V, W, Y, or S – and a student could go through their entire educational career up to college under one banner or opt to switch during the transition from Junior High to High School. After the hellish, angst-fueled existence that came with the Junior High experience, many students were eager to start over at a new location surrounded by a largely different group of people.

Michelle was no exception. After Francis had spread that rumor about her hooking up with him underneath the bleachers, school had become a living hell. It didn't help that all her best friends were guys, which all the girls used as ammo to assert that she was a huge slut.

So when it came to transferring school systems, the decision had been a no-brainer…

* * *

"So I was thinking about transferring to the S school," Alfred mused, picking at the tray of fries in front of him.

"If you say it's because S stands for 'Sexy' I will punch you in the face," Arthur grumbled, nursing a bruise on his arm that had almost completely healed.

"No! It's because S stands for 'Spectacular'!"

"You make terrible life decisions."

"But seriously though," Alfred grinned, deflecting Arthur's half-hearted hitting, "I'm pretty much set in sticking with the V school through High School too. Coach says I'll have my pick of positions on the freshman football team!"

"But aren't you already, like, the Quarterback?" Leon asked, looking up from his history textbook.

"Other positions are important to! And put that thing away dude. We aren't in school right now. We don't need to lug our textbooks around everywhere."

"Your parents aren't overachieving Asians," Leon groaned, stealing one of Arthur's fries (Stealing one of Alfred's meant almost-certain death). "Which means I'll be staying with the V school too. Throwing myself into a new school could affect my grades."

"I thought briefly about switching to W, but if I did there wouldn't be anyone to keep this asshole in line," Arthur playfully showed Alfred, who nearly choked on his fries. "Besides, if I did go I would be all by myself, which would suck."

"Well, I would be there to," Michelle added quickly. Alfred stopped chewing, and everyone stared at her in surprise.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Leon asked, putting his textbook down, "But we were talking about joining a club together in High School. What happened?"

"That happened." Michelle motioned behind her, where she could hear Francis talking to a group of girls whom had treated her particularly badly. "I know Francis and all those girls are staying with the V school, and I can barely stand to be around them for the rest of the semester – much less four more years. I talked to Matthew and Carlos about it, and they're both going to W and told me about all the clubs and programs they had there. Not to mention it would be a shorter commute for me every day…"

"But you can't!" Alfred exclaimed, "Without you, who'll tell Arthur when he's being too controlling and British?"

"You seem to have that covered," Michelle laughed as Arthur flipped him off, "And it's not like I'm moving to Africa or something. I'll still be living in the city. You guys could come over to my apartment to hang out or something."

"Your grandfather hates me though." Arthur shook his head, "Ignore us. You should do whatever you want."

Alfred and Leon nodded in agreement and that seemed to be the end of it. Michelle went through the rest of the semester keeping her head low. It wasn't until the summer vacation was just within her sights when she found out what had happened.

"It looks like there's a good chance Abel will be the captain of the soccer team," Matthew said, as Michelle and Alfred sat across from him pouring over their notes for their last History exam.

"He's going to W too right?" Michelle asked absentmindedly.

"Yeah. His family lives really close to the High School, so his parents wanted him and Laura to go there instead."

"That's nice." Michelle added, turning the page and skimming the section on the United States Bill of Rights.

"You're not joining the soccer team are you Alfred?"

"Nope, I'm still joining the football team. I told you that."

"Yeah, but the W football team is so difficult to get onto-"

"Wait, what?" Michelle looked up, shooting Alfred a questioning look.

"Matt I told you not to tell her!"

"Sorry," Matthew hid behind his book with a large picture of a Polar Bear on the cover.

"What is he talking about Alfred? I thought you were going to World Academy V?"

"Yeah, well, about that…"

"Hey, what's going on?"

Michelle looked up to see that Arthur and Leon had arrived at their table. Matthew seemed to have sunk even deeper behind his book.

"The jig is up," Alfred muttered, shooting Matthew a glare, "Matt blabbed."

"Whatever do you mean Alfred?" Arthur sputtered, looking at Michelle nervously.

"Oh my god. You guys are going to Academy W too?" Michelle exclaimed.

"Well, my brother is going there, and when we were talking about schools he mentioned all the programs they have," Leon explained, apparently unfazed. "I figured I would probably excel more there than here, so I decided to go with him."

"Honestly, I just didn't want to go to school with my brothers," Arthur admitted, scratching his head sheepishly, "and because two of my best friends were already going there…"

"Leaving me all alone!" Alfred snapped, "The three of you and the blabbermouth over here-" Alfred pointed at Matt, who was still hiding behind his book, "-were all ditching me! Even if they offered me the position of Varsity Quarterback, it would suck because I'd be without you guys!"

"Which is why we didn't tell you," Leon reasoned, glancing over the textbook in front of Michelle, "to protect Alfred and Arthur's poor egos. I didn't even know they were going until last week."

"Wait." Michelle frowned, "If that's the case, why didn't I know you were going?"

"Because you're a terrible listener," Leon shrugged, "I think I told you, like, three times."

"Heh?"

"You really are a terrible listener," Alfred snorted, "I'm honestly surprised that you noticed what Matthew said just now - especially considering he's just so damn forgettable."

"I can't hear that often enough," Matthew snapped his book closed and stood up, "Study Hall is almost over and I need to ask my Science teacher something before class."

"But that's beside the point," Michelle reiterated, "I mean, the two of you switched schools partially because you were gonna miss me!"

"Well, yeah, basically," Arthur mumbled, his face turning red.

"You guys are so sweet! And now we can all be pathetic together!" Michelle gushed, and pulled all three boys into a hug despite their fevered objections to the word 'pathetic.'

* * *

Michelle later concluded that 'pathetic' was probably the wrong word for it. In reality it was the bond that they had formed over the years they attended school together. That bond only grew stronger once they became friends as close as they were now, and none of them could bear the sight of one of their own hurting.

If they hadn't transferred along with her, Michelle honestly wondered how she'd be able to cope. The whole reason she had transferred was to receive a fresh start, but just a few rows below, she spotted Francis and his clique cheering for Antonio. Snorting in contempt, she looked away.

"Please tell me you're not thinking about that idiot," Arthur interrupted her thoughts.

Michelle realized that she had been staring and felt her face turn red. "Only about how much he annoys me. I probably shouldn't be dwelling on that though."

"I see," Arthur replied, clearly unconvinced, "The first half is over. This game isn't very good though."

"Everyone seems to be enjoying it though. Even just a few minutes ago we were screaming and shouting just like the rest of them."

"You always cheer for your team, no matter how they're doing on the field! But honestly, this game is starting to get boring. We're crushing them. If we were more evenly matched it would be a lot more exciting," Arthur sighed, "Though I suppose it's better to get out of the gate with a win."

"Well we have Antonio and Abel," Alfred pointed out, "None of the other team's players stand out that much."

"I'm just surprised Antonio and Abel haven't killed each other," Michelle interjected.

Alfred gave her a surprised look, "What do you mean?"

"Are you serious? I thought this was common knowledge," Michelle replied, "Abel used to be a member of Antonio's clique but had a huge falling out with them back in Junior High. No one's entirely sure why, but it was all pretty ugly from what I've heard."

"Maybe they're getting along because it's soccer?" Arthur shrugged, "Wars have stopped for that sport."

"Maybe, I have no idea."

"People don't end friendships and start hating each other for no reason," Toris pointed out.

"Yes, but that would be between them then wouldn't it?"

Michelle jumped and turned to see Ivan standing nearby. "You guys having fun?" he asked, wearing his usual grin.

"Um, sure, I guess." Arthur responded hesitantly. The rest of the group merely eyed him in silence.

"That's good. I hope there aren't any fights in the second quarter," Ivan looked down onto the field as the cheerleaders cleared the field after completing their routine.

"I don't think Antonio and Abel would really fight though," Michelle responded, surprised that she managed to find her voice. She glanced back quickly at Toris, who seemed to be doing his best to blend in with the other students.

Ivan shook his head, "Oh not them, I was talking about Mike Denson and that player from the other team," Ivan frowned slightly when the others stared back blankly. "Don't tell me you didn't notice? Denson looked like he wanted to beat the crap out of him."

"Really?" Michelle asked, peering down onto the field. Sure enough, Mike was standing on the side of the field, glaring daggers at one of the opposing team's defenders.

Michelle heard a call from higher up on the bleachers and turned to see Natalia waving her brother over. Nodding to the group, he continued up the steps to go meet her.

"I wonder who that other player is. Did he foul Denson without anyone noticing or something?" Alfred frowned, choosing not to acknowledge what had just happened.

"I doubt it. Denson wasn't on the field very long and he's a forward, so someone on our side would've noticed something like that," Arthur glanced at Toris, "He went to the same Middle School as you did right? Did that other kid go to your school too?"

"Well yeah, Mikkel did, but I didn't see that much of him," Toris squinted, "The other guy might've gone to our school. It was big. I don't recognize him though."

"Let's just hope this doesn't mess up our lead," Alfred sighed, "It would suck if we lost this game because there was fighting on the field."

* * *

"Who is that guy, and why does Mikkel look like he's going to kill him?" Lukas asked as the first half ended and the cheerleaders took the field for another sub-par routine. Most of the students didn't seem to notice, but Lukas could see his friend become very tense when the opposing team switched in a new defender.

"I think he went to the same Middle school as us," Tino replied. "I don't know his name though. Berwald, you know Mike the best, do you know-"

"Yea'" Berwald interrupted, looking almost as tense as Mikkel had on the field, and added very slowly, "Lutalo Patel. He was on the soccer team with Mikkel."

"That's right," Tino snapped his fingers. "But wait, if that's the case why does Mike look so angry?"

"Bad 'lodd there'" Berwald replied, "I 'ope he doe'nt pick a 'ight. 'snot worth it."

Lukas frowned, remembering how Mikkel avoided telling him anything about his soccer team. Lukas hadn't felt the need to bring it up again since they reconnected, but he couldn't help but feel out of the loop.

Whatever had happened didn't seem to bring about any gossip. Out of the three Tino seemed to be the only one worth talking about, what with his connections to Ivan Braginski. For a loudmouth, Mikkel had become pretty good at keeping his mouth shut. If Berwald's body language was any indication, he didn't like this Lutalo kid any more than Mikkel did, but he didn't elaborate any further. Lukas was even starting to doubt that Berwald was even out of the closet by how tight lipped they all were about everything.

Whatever the reason, Lukas heard alarm bells go off in head when he spotted Lutalo walking down the sidelines and making an obscene gesture towards the other team. A few people from the stands let out angry calls, but no one on the field seemed to notice aside from Mikkel, who began to make his way over to the other side of the field.

"Fuck, this can't be good," Lukas muttered, darting up and pushing past people walking up the bleachers as he made his descent.  _They can't get into a fight here of all places._

By the time Lukas got to them, however, Mikkel and Lutalo were already in each other's faces.

"Clearly I didn't get the message across clearly the first time!" Mikkel hissed.

"Like you could intimidate me," Lutalo chuckled, looking over his shoulder and back at his team. None of them seemed to notice his absence yet, but some of his classmates in the stands didn't seem particularly thrilled about what was happening.

"Mikkel, whatever it is, let it go. You're in the middle of a game," Lukas tried to reason calmly as he tugged on Mikkel's arm.

"Yeah, better listen to your boyfriend faggot."

"What did you just call me?"

"Just ignore him!" Lukas snapped, noticing that the other players had finally begun to notice what was happening.

"Lutalo, what are you doing?"

Lukas turned to see a short-haired girl holding a clipboard making her way over towards the trio. The rest of the team remained on the bench eying the boys warily.

"Nothing Japera, I was just-"

"Inciting a fight with my friend," Lukas finished, shooting Lutalo his iciest glare, "in addition to referring to both of us using a slur."

"Seriously Lute?" Japera yelled, grabbing him by the arm, "On behalf of our entire team, I would like to apologize. This type of behavior is not tolerated and will not happen again."

"Thank you," Lukas nodded to Japera before turning to Mikkel. "Now go back to the sidelines. Your team is wondering what you're doing."

Mikkel nodded, before shooting one last glare at Lutalo and heading back to the bench. Once there, he was immediately bombarded with questions from his teammates.

Lukas turned to go back to the stands, listening as Japera dragged Lutalo back to the bench.

"But Japera they're friends with a fucking homo-"

"There is a time and a place for calling out gross crap like that Lutalo, but not on the field, and especially not in a place like New York City. Honestly, you're such an idiot-"

Lukas clenched his teeth and continued towards the bleachers. Stopping momentarily, he bent over as if he had dropped something on the ground. He whispered a chant quietly to himself, absentmindedly running his fingers through some kind of dust that covered the grass, and then stood up and made his way back to his seat.

"What was that about?" Tino asked, and Lukas saw Berwald tense as people nearby leaned in to listen to his response.

"Just an asshole from the other team trying to start a fight. It's all taken care of, no damage done." Lukas explained. Berwald relaxed, while the others seemed mildly disappointed that there hadn't been more to it than that.

The second half started up again, and Lukas frowned when he saw Lutalo among the players that had reentered the field. The crowd on both sides seemed confused by this development as well, but before anyone could make a fuss, Lutalo collapsed onto the field and began vomiting.

"Gross," Tino gagged, as Japera ran onto the field with two men that Lukas suspected were the coach and some sort of physician.

A moment later the vomiting stopped – at least for Lutalo. Japera stumbled away from the others and began vomiting as well, eliciting groans of disgust from the stands.

* * *

"So then they both got suspended?" Tino gasped. The game had ended in a rousing victory for World Academy W, and Tino had accompanied Lukas and Berwald in congratulating Mikkel.

"Yeah. Apparently they had been drinking right before the game started," Mikkel grinned, "Probably why that asshole was so bold in trying to start a fight with me. Idiot."

"So ju't ig'ore 'im fr'm now on," Berwald grunted.

Mikkel shot him a sheepish grin before punching him in the arm playfully, "Yeah, next time I'll leave it to you so you can grunt at him until he collapses from a migraine."

As Mikkel and Berwald quickly descended into an argument about which one of them was the better fighter, Lukas noticed Kiku eying him from a few feet away.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute guys!" Lukas yelled, and Tino nodded. Lukas bounded over to Kiku, whom Lucas could tell was upset once he was close enough to get a read on him.

"I saw what you did on the field," Kiku said, "I don't care what the fight was about, but to use magic in a sporting event-"

"Trust me, it was warranted," Lukas responded. "And I only did a basic vomiting spell which should have warn off almost immediately with no side effects. The alcohol in their systems was all them. It probably would have happened in a few hours for Lutalo anyway."

"Luckily no one noticed this time," Kiku glared, "Just don't do it again."

"You're not the leader of this club Kiku," Lukas replied coolly, "I'm not planning on doing that kind of thing again, but it's none of your business if I did. Now if you'll excuse me I have a celebration to attend."

Lukas turned and made his way back to his friends, who were waiting for him by the gate as the crowds began to file through.

"What was that about?" Mikkel nodded toward Kiku, whose unhappiness was now very clear for a long distance.

"He was just telling me to pass on the message not to be so hotheaded next time."

"Well he can blow me," Mikkel snorted, "He's not the boss of me. Besides, the coach already told me as much anyway."

"That's what I said," Lukas smirked, "He's just anxious because it's the first game. I'm sure he'll let it go."

"And we won our first game!" Mikkel shouted, with a few of his team makes shouting in agreement as they passed by. "So what should we do to celebrate?"

"What do people normally do to celebrate their sports team winning?" Lukas asked.

"Let's flip over some cars!" Tino shouted gleefully, before recanting when he saw his friends' shocked expressions. "I'm only joking."

"Hey Lukas!"

Lukas turned to see Emil, along with Sadiq and the rest of their friends, standing a few yards away.

"Yeah?" Lukas shouted back, smirking at his brother's annoyed expression. A moment later, Emil made his way over to the group.

"A bunch of people are going to this pizza joint downtown. You guys up for it?"

"You bet we are!" Mikkel flashed a smile and gave a thumbs up, "We need to refuel for the next game!"

"There aren't any girls here, you don't need to act like a bad cartoon," Emil deadpanned, before turning back to rejoin Sadiq. Mikkel hung his head in mock shame as his friends began laughing at his expense.

* * *

As nightfall hit, the field was completely empty. Signs of life still bore on its surface in the form of trash and disturbances in the AstroTurf. As such, there was no one to bear witness as the dust near the bleachers began to glow and collect itself.

And there was no one to witness the dust morph and grow, beginning to take shape. A few minutes later, the field was silent once more.

The only break in the silence was the single utterance of, "Where am I?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I picked Zimbabwe to be Lutalo's friend because human rights in general there are pretty terrible and anti-gay rhetoric is incredibly strong (and she was the only character I had named that I wasn't planning on using).
> 
> **5/13/2015:** Thank you for reading this far! I hope you've enjoyed this story. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely I'll ever get back to this story. Looking back, I'm not particularly happy with how parts of this turned out, or with the characterization or ways it handles certain topics. That, combined with the fact that this story was designed to run around thirty chapters long, doesn't give me a lot of incentive to dive back into this anytime soon.
> 
> As for what would have happened, well, I'll keep it close to the vest on the off-chance I do pick this up again in some way, shape, or form. However, the nameless narrator in this story is one of the characters this story is tagged with that, I don't believe, has enough presence otherwise to justify it. It's also someone with... issues with speaking up. I'll leave it at that.
> 
> Sorry again. I hope you'll check out some of my other stories though! I swear I've gotten better than this.


End file.
